


Bone-ward Bound

by CompletelyBoned



Category: Horrortale (Fandom), Swapfell (Fandom), Underswap (Fandom), Undertale (Video Game), underfell (fandom)
Genre: Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Horrortale Papyrus (Undertale), Horrortale Sans (Undertale), Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Reader-Insert, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Sans (Undertale), Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Underswap Sans (Undertale), and they have cute goats and stuff, but what's a good story without comfort from past traumas?, catch reader having common sense for once, healing and growth is what we're about here, how else are we supposed to see the boys get attack by chickens?, prepare to see horror being soft with animals, reader is also strong and independent, reader lives in a cottagecore homestead because I said so, reverse-harem - Freeform, so light it probably shouldn't even be tagged, the story is lowkey cliche but like...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 44,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27809836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CompletelyBoned/pseuds/CompletelyBoned
Summary: Living on your own after creating the home of your cottage-core dreams was a true accomplishment, but can get lonely at times. So for the past two years, you worked at a little bakery shop and became close friends with a tall, funky skeleton. But now he and his brother face a dilemma from their cousins from out-of-town suddenly crashing with them... Maybe you could spare a few bedrooms for some help with the animals?
Relationships: Papyrus (Horrortale)/Reader, Papyrus (Swapfell)/Reader, Papyrus (Underswap)/Reader, Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Papyrus (underfell)/reader, Sans (Horrortale)/Reader, Sans (Swapfell)/Reader, Sans (Underfell)/Reader, Sans (Underswap)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 424
Kudos: 585





	1. Sleep Well, Bud

**Author's Note:**

> Tips:  
> (F/n)- First name  
> (L/n)- Last name  
> (s/t)- Skin tone  
> (h/c)- Hair color  
> (e/c)- Eye color  
> (y/h)- Your height
> 
> ~~~ In case you forgot some names for the boys!~~~  
> Undertale Sans- Sans  
> Undertale Papyrus- Papyrus/Paps  
> Underswap Sans- Blue  
> Underswap Papyrus- Stretch  
> Underfell Sans- Red  
> Underfell Papyrus- Edge  
> Horrortale Sans- Oak  
> Horrortale Papyrus- Willow  
> (Oak and Willow’s names are inspired by ratsoh-writes on tumblr!)  
> If you want to check out my tumblr for updates and some of my other nonsense, you’ll find me under completelyboned!

In the quiet little bakery of Muffet’s Crawly-Confectionary, only the sound of soft humming and little tings and clinks from moving bread pans and coffee mugs around the calm shop. The (y/h) and unsuspecting human doing some mediocre cleanup behind the counter was the only one to occupy the place during the dead-hours of work…

Well… that was the case, anyhow.

“(F/N)!!!” The bell above the door clang loudly at the sudden explosion of the entrance being nearly kicked down by a tall and excited skeleton.

You gasped in surprise and fumbled with the coffee cup in your hand, trying to grab it before it drops. Luckily, you managed to catch it and set it down with a sigh of relief, clutching your shirt where your heart would have been.

“Paps! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” He seemed to dismiss it and came to the front counter, tying his apron behind his back.

“I Didn’t Know You Worked Today!!” He chirped out. You laugh a little and put your hands on your hips. You puff up your chest to try to stand as tall as the 6’6 skeleton in front of you.

“I actually got called in. I guess Muffet thought I should keep an eye out for you, considering what happened a couple of days ago.” Papyrus’s eyes popped out a bit as a little of orange magic dusted his face.

“I Swear I Didn’t Mean To Pull All Of The Pastries Off The Rack! I Slipped On A Cookie That Fell On The Floor!!” You just laugh and pat him on the back.

“I’m kidding, Papyrus. I think Spencer just caught a cold.” He sighed in relief and rubbed his eye sockets. Upon further inspection, though, you could start to see dark circles beginning to form under them.

“Hey, Paps. Are you feeling okay? You look pretty tired. And you’re a little quieter than usual.” He meets your face full of concern and tries his best to straighten his posture to try to look more energetic.

“Of Course I Am Alright! The Great And Magnificent Papyrus Never Gets Tired!! (or stressed).” He added quietly. You raised an eyebrow at him, squinting your eyes with a knowing look.

“Is it your cousins again?” You asked. He sighed deeply and rested his elbows on the rolling table- completely caving into himself.

“Yes…” He muttered in the defeat of being caught. You joined him leaning over the table and nodded your head as a ‘go on.’

“Well, It’s Just That Since Everyone Had Moved Into The Apartment So Suddenly- There’s Just Not Enough Room For Everyone. We’re All Trying To Save Up Money To Get A Bigger Place, But Only Sans And I Have Jobs At The Moment. Being Crowded All The Time And The Stress Over Money Is Just Making Everyone Upset…”

“So you and your brother are losing a lot of sleep, huh?” He nodded solemnly. You take a deep breath and place a hand on his shoulder.

“Why don’t you go rest up in the breakroom? You can take a little nap back there-”

“Oh No!! I Couldn’t Do That!! Muffet Would-”

“-Muffet would send you home to sleep because you’re a valued coworker and friend here.” He looked guilty and rubbed the back of his skull.

“But What If You Get Busy?” You just smile and wave him off.

“Paps- both you and I have worked here for two years now. I can handle it. Besides, it’s skeleton-hours anyway.” He still looked unsure but sighed.

“Ten Minutes!! I Shall Sleep For Ten Minutes Because You Have Persisted That I Do So! You Must Wake Me Up If You Get Busy Though!!” You grin at your victory of letting your friend finally rest, shooing him off.

“Ten minutes. Got it. I’ll wake you up then.” He marched off in a dignified way towards the breakroom for his ‘mandatory nap’ that you 'forced' him to take. You frown with a little bit of pity, thinking of his situation.

His cousins came from out of town a few weeks back without much of a warning, so being the only family they have- they all crashed at their place.

You went over there a few times within the two years of knowing and working with Papyrus- and you knew that, although it was a nice place- it only had two rooms, clearly meant for just him and his brother.

You hum in thought. You already knew that you wanted to help out your friend, and being the person you are, you tend to really stretch yourself out thin at times trying to help others… But would it end up being something you regretted?

You loved Papyrus- and his brother is also really cool- but you haven’t met his cousins yet. You heard that a couple of them are “ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES,” as quoted by Papyrus, but maybe you should do some more thinking before barging in headfirst and letting some strangers into your house. After all, what if they didn’t like animals? What if they happened to be mean to your babies? What if they turn out to be complete jerks? You shake your head at the idea.

The bell above the door jingled to let you know that another customer came in.

You brush off your apron and head over to the front counter with your ‘if-I-don’t-act-happy-I-will-be-fed-to-Muffet’s-pet’ smile.

“Hi! Welcome to Muffet’s Crawly-Confection-” You stop your little speech at seeing the lazy grin in front of you. “Oh! Hey Sans! Did you want the usual?” He just waved his hand in a ‘nah’ kind of way.

“i actually came because paps left his lunch at home. is he in the back?” You nod.

“Yeah, but I sent him to go and rest up a bit. He looked pretty worn out.” He sighed and rubbed his skull with his free hand, his dark circles also showing dense under his weary-looking eyes, or eye sockets, you suppose.

“yeah, i figured as much. he claims he’s sleeping fine, but i think everyone can tell.” You nod and take the brown sack from Sans and put it aside to put away later.

“i’ll be heading back now. 'have to get ready for work here soon. tell paps a bad pun for me, will ya’?” You smile at his playful antics towards 'torturing' his brother, but stop him before he gets too far away.

“Wait, Sans. Before you go- what kind of people are your cousins like?” He chuckles and rubs his chin as if pondering the right words to say.

“well... they are quite the rave when you put them together. but they’re good people. a few with some of us skeletons in their closets... but generally good folks.” You nod in thoughtful consideration.

“You know… If you guys want, you can come over to my place to eat dinner tonight- if you’re not busy or too tired, that is.” Sans closed his eye sockets with an almost relieved smile.

“time away from the apartment sure does sound tempting… but it depends…” You lean closer as he took a dramatically long pause. “do you have some of that ketchup you make from your garden?” You can’t help but snort at his response.

“Ew, you still drink ketchup?” He only kept his lazy grin as he gave a ‘yup,’ popping out his ‘p.’ “Alright if that’s the case, what would you guys like to eat tonight? Besides just ketchup.”

After just deciding on whatever, you look up at the clock to see that ten minutes had passed.

Just as to confirm it, the faint sound of Papyrus’s alarm made you head back there to check on him.

Standing in the doorway, you can see Papyrus just slumped as his body splayed over the mini couch.

You look around, as if any prying eyes were anywhere, and carefully walked over to Papyrus’s phone and shut off the alarm. Papyrus was still snoring softly- a little bit of drool starting to pool by his mouth.

You smile in contentment and set his phone back down where it was, and walk around towards the entryway to shut off the lights in the breakroom so he could sleep more comfortably.

“Sleep well, bud.”

Now, all you had to do was keep up with whatever customers come in for the time being and think about what to decide for dinner tonight with everyone. What are you going to make with eight people coming over?

...

_CRASH! BOOM! BANG! THUD! THUD! THUD!-_

‘ _Oh, Papyrus is awake_ ,’ You think to yourself after giving back the change to a customer.

The customer looks over towards the loud stomping sounds before scurrying out of the store. No doubt it was caused upon seeing a frazzled skeleton with his eyes out of his sockets.

“(F/N)!!! WHAT HAPPENED?? IT’S BEEN THREE HOURS PAST WHEN I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AWAKE!!! NYEEEEH!!” You smile and get back to rolling out the dough for some cookies.

“Don’t worry about it! I let you sleep in. You looked like you could’ve used it. Oh! Your brother stopped by, too. Your lunch is in the fridge.” He stomped his foot in place, absolutely fuming.

“SANS WAS HERE?? NOW HE’S NEVER GOING TO LET ME LIVE DOWN THAT I WAS SLEEPING ON THE JOB!” You just smile and throw a chocolate chip at his head.

“I’m sure he’ll let it slide. Besides, now that you get some extra sleep in, you’ll be ready to come over to my place tonight!” You chirped. He stopped his little grumpy pout with an excited gasp.

“WOWIE!! YOU MEAN I CAN FINALLY MEET BILLY-JEAN?” You nodded excitedly at thinking about finally having Papyrus over for the first time.

Billy-jean is one of your pygmy goats. Sure, say what you will about how the 'billy-jean' doesn’t really fit since they’re not billygoats, but all you have to say for that is,,, shut up. It’s cute.

...

Continuing your talk with Papyrus- you tell him about the rest of your conversation with Sans about staying over for dinner that night.

He was more than thrilled to have you meet his cousins!

“-SO THERE’S TWO OF THEM NAMED BLUE AND STRETCH- THEY’RE REALLY NICE, AND BLUE HELPS ME GET SANS AND HIS BROTHER OUT OF BED. HE ALSO HELPS ME IN THE KITCHEN- BUT LAST TIME WE ACCIDENTALLY SET THE STOVE ON FIRE, SO NOW EDGE TAKES OVER.” Papyrus animately stirred some cake batter- splashing a little bit as he beat it, chattering excitedly.

“SPEAKING OF EDGE- HE SEEMS REALLY MEAN AND SCARY, BUT HE’S ACTUALLY NOT SO BAD WHEN YOU GET PAST HIS SHARP EXTERIOR- BUT HIS BROTHER IS A LOT LIKE SANS, BUT IN MORE LIKE AN ANGSTY PHASE-” You can’t help but sputter out a laugh at Paps description of his cousin. 

"OAK IS A REALLY BIG GUY, AND LIKE EDGE, HE CAN SEEM SCARY, BUT HE’S ACTUALLY A BIG TEDDY BEAR! HE DOESN’T TALK A LOT, SO DON’T BE OFFENDED IF HE DOESN’T SAY MUCH. AND WILLOW IS HIS BROTHER! HE’S TALLER THAN ALL OF US, BUT HE’S REALLY NICE AND CAN BE SHY AT TIMES- MOSTLY BECAUSE HE AND OAK COME FROM A… TOUGHER BACKGROUND- SAME WITH EDGE AND RED. BUT, THEY’RE ALL GREAT! -not as great as me, of course- BUT FAIRLY GREAT.”

“Oh, I see. Was the underground a little harder on them?” You asked. He looked around nervously, making you realize that maybe it was a little too personal. “Oh, sorry! You don’t have to answer that, Paps.”

“OH NO, IT’S OKAY. YEAH, THE UNDERGROUND WAS DEFINITELY… HARDER ON THEM FOR SURE. IT DEFINITELY LEFT SOME SCARS ON THEM- IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE...BUT THEY’RE ALL SUPER AMAZING!! ALTHOUGH PATIENCE CAN BE KEY AT TIMES.” You nod understandingly, a small surge of determination reaching you.

You’re going to make your new potential friends feel so welcomed and safe that they’ll have no choice but to accept your love and kindness!!

Papyrus squinted at your dazed face, a suspicious gleam to them.

“WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING (F/N)? YOU’RE GIVING THAT LOOK FROM WHENEVER YOU HAVE A BAD IDEA INSTORE!” You just smile to yourself, feeling genuinely content with your plans to create a stress-free zone for your guests.

“Oh, nothing. I’m just thinking is all.” That only made Papyrus squint harder as he leveled himself to try to meet your eye level.

“LAST TIME YOU SAID THAT WE HAD TO RUN FROM THE AUTHORITIES.”

“Taking ducks from the park isn’t illegal! If anything, that’s on them!”

...

Stepping back from your work and looking at the table set with all sorts of food- you can’t help but wonder if maybe you went overboard.

You asked Papyrus what everyone liked, and everyone seemed to have such different tastes- you would’ve felt bad if you made something that anyone disliked- so you just made everything Papyrus said.

We got spaghetti, some lasagna, tacos, burgers, and a bunch of pastries. Paps said not to worry about Sans and their cousin Red since they are “walking garbage disposals,” as quoted by Papyrus, and their other cousins- Willow and Oak- would also eat anything.

Making sure to set Sans ketchup that you made front and center of the table, you realized that you were finally done. 

Only a few minutes left to spare…

You sure hoped that they would be able to find their way here.

You do live about 30 minutes from town- which could be considered a downfall, but you honestly liked driving. Plus, being able to have a lot of space for your animals to roam around and to be able to see the stars so clearly at night, it was hardly a con.

Speaking of the devil…

“Hey, there babies!!” You say excitedly as your two dogs entered the room.

One of them was a little mutt that you loved with all your heart. You found her on the street as a puppy and named her Boots for having colored feet- like little boots!

And then you had your big boy Gizmo. He’s a rottweiler rescued from his owner- a ringleader for dogfighting- and he is the biggest sweetheart to have ever graced this earth. 

He may have a rough exterior- missing an ear and having more than enough scars to show his troubled past- but after being shown enough love and kindness, you would’ve never guessed of his rough past... if it weren’t for the marks, that is.

“How are my babies!! Did you come back from being outside? Keeping those chickens safe, I assume? Not trying to play with the skunk again, I hope?” They just gave their little, dopey smiles and wagged their tails at the attention. Giving them both kisses on their foreheads, you stand up and look around.

“Alright, we have some guests coming over here in a few minutes! Remember to be kind and to behave! I’m looking at you, Boots.” You eye her only to get a bark of agreement. You let out a huff of pride at your companions and scratch their heads. “Okay, good dogs.” They excitedly do their little tippy-tap dances, making you roll your eyes and give them a treat.

“You can get another one if you both behave, alright?” Both dogs hold out their paws, and you shake them. “Okay, it’s a deal.”

The ringing of the doorbell made your heart surge, happy to have your old friend finally- and potentially new ones- come over to your home.

You open up the door with a bright smile to see Papyrus at the door, rocking on his heels, a grin so tight you thought he might shatter his teeth if he kept it up.

“(F/N)!!”

“Papyrus!!!” He picked you up and spun you around in a bone-crushing hug, sharing your squeal of excitement.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I’VE COME OVER TO YOUR HOME!” You match his energy as you both held onto each other's hands- as if you were both two high school best friends who haven’t seen each other since the weekend.

“I know!! I made a lot of food for everyone, and I made sure that everyone at my house was on their best behavior tonight.” You declare, your dogs deciding to make their dramatic appearance to greet the new people.

“OH WOWIE!! ARE THESE BOOTS AND GIZ-”

“holy shit! what is that?!” You and Papyrus’s heads snapped over to see a shorter skeleton with a red bomber jacket, yell and point at Gizmo.

You could tell Papyrus was going to say something- probably about using profanity- but Sans (surprisingly) beat him to it.

“red.” It was a straightforward sentence, only containing- what you assume was his name- but his point was made very clear.

 **Knock it off**.

The skeleton grumbled and crossed his arms but stood behind another short skeleton dressed in a lovely, light grey sweater tucked into his black jeans. To top it off, he wore a light-blue bandana.

“UH- SORRY ABOUT MY COUSIN RED. I THINK YOUR DOG SURPRISED HIM IS ALL. I’M BLUE!” He looked a little nervous around Gizmo, which made you a little sad, but it was understandable- so you couldn’t judge.

“I’m (F/n)! And don’t worry about Gizmo! He’s a real sweetheart; he just looks scarier than he is.” You could hear a snort come from Red again as he elbows Blue.

“hey, doesn't he remind you of someone?” He laughed out as he decided to pet Gizmo around where his missing ear was.

“AS IF YOU'RE ONE TO TALK THERE, BROTHER. YOU’RE GOING TO LOSE MORE THAN AN EAR IF YOU KEEP MISBEHAVING.” A tall and sharp looking skeleton looked towards you- a prominent scar over his left eye.

Oh. This must be Edge. He definitely matches Papyrus’s description of ‘sharp.’

“EXCUSE MY BROTHER, HUMAN (F/N). WE ARE HAPPY YOU INVITED US OVER FOR A MEAL.” You can’t help but laugh a little bit at his change of mannerism from his brother to you. You take his hand, smiling brightly at him.

“It’s no problem! I’m happy you guys are here! Would you guys like to come in? Food’s ready.”

Everyone came inside one by one- the skeletons you have yet to meet waved a little as they came inside, but Red continued pouting as he walked in last- allowing you to catch a little bit of, “treatin’ me like a kid… i ain’t even got ears…”

Papyrus stops and makes more of a 'formal' greeting between you and everyone once they're all inside the house.

“AS EVERYONE SHOULD PROBABLY KNOW BY NOW, THIS IS MY FRIEND (F/N). (F/N) THIS IS STRETCH-” Another tall and lanky skeleton in an orange hoodie gave a short wave as he pets Boots.

“EDGE,” The tall and sharp skeleton from earlier gave a short greeting, allowing you to confirm that you guessed his name right.

“RED,” He sent you a wink making you have to hold back from just laughing. Who is this guy??

“WILLOW,” Oh yeah- Papyrus was not joking when he said Willow was tall. When he walked in from the door, you noticed that he had to bend down further than the rest of the tall ones did.

He gave a cheerful wave as you did one back.

“BLUE,” The shorter one who tried to apologize for Red earlier gave out an excited “HI!!”

“-YOU KNOW SANS- AND THAT’S OAK.” Papyrus was once again right when he said Oak was a big guy. He was at least 6’2 and had the shape of a large lumberjack. He had a large crack in his skull, and you realized who Red might have been referencing when he was petting Gizmo. But… He didn’t look that scary when he gave that shy wave.

You beam at them, introducing yourself more formally.

“I’m glad you guys were able to find your way here! Papyrus told me what you all liked, so I decided to try to make it all. Feel free to help yourselves to as much food as you like!” You could see a few hungry glints in some of their eyes as they scanned the table, and you felt that twitch of a grin start to form.

Ah. If only it would go as peaceful as you thought it would have.


	2. Go Bone Boy, Go!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who says fighting over dinner and meeting animals isn't fun?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tips:  
> (F/n)- First name  
> (L/n)- Last name  
> (s/t)- Skin tone  
> (h/c)- Hair color  
> (e/c)- Eye color  
> (y/h)- Your height
> 
> ~~~ In case you forgot some names for the boys!~~~  
> Undertale Sans- Sans  
> Undertale Papyrus- Papyrus/Paps  
> Underswap Sans- Blue  
> Underswap Papyrus- Stretch  
> Underfell Sans- Red  
> Underfell Papyrus- Edge  
> Horrortale Sans- Oak  
> Horrortale Papyrus- Willow  
> (Oak and Willow’s names are inspired by ratsoh-writes on tumblr!)

“BROTHER, YOU ARE EATING LIKE AN ABSOLUTE ANIMAL. THE GOATS OUTSIDE HAVE MORE MANNERS THAN YOU.” 

Tableware jumped in place after the sharp skeleton slammed his red-gloved hands onto the table, making you jump, but everyone else pretty much unbothered. Only a sigh from Sans and a pinch of his nasal bridge indicated that this often happens at their place.

“‘t’s not my fault these burgers are so good,” Red replied, his mouth wholly stuffed as mustard dripped off his chin. You could see Edge raise his finger to retort, but you quickly cut him off.

“Thanks for thinking so, Red! I’m glad you like them so much!” You felt a sweat break out in fear that Edge might break your table if he slammed down his fist like that again.

“see, boss? they don’t mind-”

“but we do.” Stretch cuts off, making you have to cover your face to keep from laughing. The whole dinner, the skeleton next to you has been dishing out one-liners and quick bits; although Papyrus and Blue seem displeased with it, you’ve been jumping in with his jokes, thoroughly enjoying his company.

“pretty rich comin’ from the guy who can’t keep quiet whenever he-”  _ SPLAT!  _

Everyone jumped back from the table as spaghetti sauce splashed everywhere after the pasta just annihilated Red’s face.

“what was that, red? couldn’t hear you with your mouth so full.” You stared wide-eyed as the spaghetti dripped off of Red’s now… well… red face. Both from the spaghetti sauce and his enraged demeanor. 

_ Oh no… _

“YOU SON OF A-”

“ENOUGH GUYS!! WE’RE GUESTS AT (F/N)’S RIGHT NOW!!” Blue desperately pleaded.

“YES!! THERE WILL BE NO FIGHTING TONIGHT!” Papyrus declared, standing up with his hands on the table to demand authority. 

Looking back and forth from Red and Stretch, you could see a lust for murder in the shorter skeleton’s eyes- the taller and lankier skeleton only having a smug smile. You weren’t exactly sure how to handle this situation. Get involved and tell them to knock it off? You might end up on bad terms with them. Sit back and watch? Who knows what would happen to all of your furniture and food you worked so hard to make.

Wait… A middle ground!

Just as you were about to try to say something to try to diffuse the situation, a loud growl came from the vengeful cousin as he used his magic to suddenly lift some of the lasagna from his brother’s plate and send it hurling back at Stretch.

It all happened so fast. 

One minute all of you were sitting down and having a great time just chatting and eating food. You were having a funny conversation with Stretch and Sans, who were sitting at either side of you. Edge discussed with Blue about the food before them; Oak and Willow were happily eating and chatting; Papyrus popped in on any conversation he found interesting…

…

...

Now here you were, covered in marinara sauce as lasagna noodles fell from your chest and onto your lap and floor. 

Stretch- who was now across the room- stared in shock at seeing how his attempt to blip away to dodge the food led to a saucy looking host. 

The silence was  _ loud _ ,

… 

…

Papyrus looked around nervously as he watched his friend stare at their clothes that dripped with marinara sauce and the other contents from the lasagna.

“(F/N)?-” 

You snorted and grabbed a beignet, tossing it at Red. It bonked off his skull and left a bit of powdered sugar to dust over some of the red sauce he had on him.

“You jerk! You are so gonna get it later for that!” Everyone's nerves reduced by a ten-fold at seeing how they might not get kicked-out just yet from dinner.

Red no longer looked angry; instead, he looked like he was just removed from death row. His breathy laugh of relief filled the silence.

“sorry there, (f/n)... hehe… you look good ‘nough to eat though.” You only shake your head with a smile and stand up to grab some paper towels for you and your matching sauce partner.

“I’ll go clean up. There’s another bathroom down the hall if you’d like. Unless you want to match your jacket.” He grumbled as he tried to wipe some sauce off his face, no doubt thinking about how to get his revenge.

You quickly go up to your room in the attic and change your clothes- using the connected bathroom to try to wash off any sauce that might have splashed back onto your skin before going back down to the dining area.

You could hear some not-so-quiet whisper yelling from everyone- mostly Papyrus and Edge.

“If you guys aren’t trying to start a food fight, we could say hi to the animals before you guys leave.” Their angry whispers cut off, and everyone puts a plastered smile onto their faces- as if you couldn’t tell that they were in the middle of a heated argument the moment before.

“YES! I WOULD LOVE TO FINALLY MEET BILLY-JEAN.” You excitedly lead everyone outside from the backdoor, Gizmo, and Boots hot on your trail.

“WHOA!! YOU HAVE SUCH A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN, (F/N)! DID YOU GROW THESE YOURSELF?” Blue asks in awe. You beam a little in pride as he takes a moment to smell the irises and bleeding hearts lining the side of the house.

“Yup! I planted all of this myself! I also have some tomatoes and other vegetables in the greenhouse over there- I had to build that and the fence because the animals kept trying to get to them.” Willow came over and bent over a little bit to try to see you more at eye-level.

“You Built All This Yourself? You Must Be Very Muscular!” You laugh a little and rub your arm out of a nervous habit. 

“I wouldn’t go that far… But I’ll take the compliment!”

Leading them through the grapevine-infested gate, several curious heads snap over to see the new guests, trying to size them up.

In no time at all, the flock leader runs over, feathers fluffed and a sassy stride to her step. She made a dramatic appearance in front of yourself and the group, clucking a couple of times. This made your eyes roll.

“That’s Henny-Penny. She’s top of the pecking order, so she thinks she should be the first to investigate things.” Blue let out a loud gasp with his hands on both sides of his face in wonder.

“HER NAME IS HENNY-PENNY? AND SHE’S FLUFFY?” He bends down to pet the sassy chicken. “HELLO! I’M BLUE. I LOVE YOUR FEATHERED FEET-” Just like that, she fluffed out her feathers and clucked loudly, fully intending to show off her dominance.

“Wait! Blue!-” A little too late… 

Just like that, Henny-Penny jumped at Blue, making the smaller skeleton have to jump back before getting a nasty talon to his face. He shrieked and tried to back away- you tried to step in to help, you really did- but the chicken was  _ determined  _ to try to square up with Blue.

“AAAAAH! PLEASE!! I DIDN’T MEAN IT!! I WON’T MENTION YOUR FEATHERED-FEET!” Blue ran like the wind as the murderous chicken was right at his heels. 

Red pounded his fist against the ground, red tears streaming his face as he howled in laughter.

“hey, blue! don’t get too  _ ruffled  _ up there!!-” As if on cue, several other of the curious, old bitties raised their guard up and decided to join in on the violence, only now- decided to try to attack the intruder lying on the ground in the red bomber jacket.

“wait!! i’m on yer’ side!!” You and everyone else part like the Red Sea as the chickens come with talons blazing towards the gold-toothed monster, making him have to shoot-up and join Blue with their hysteria. The whole flock was now hot on their trails.

“Should I do something??” You asked them. Sans just lazily waved his hand.

“nah. they could use to burn some energy.” 

“I MUST SAY, HUMAN. I AM GREATLY IMPRESSED AT YOUR WELL-TRAINED ATTACK BIRDS. I MUST KNOW YOUR SECRET AS TO HOW YOU MADE YOUR CHICKENS SO BLOOD-THIRSTY.” He turned over to the rest of the group. “WE SHOULD INVEST IN SOME RAVAGENESS BIRDS OF OUR OWN.”

You were going to say that you never trained them to be such jerks, but after making eye contact with Stretch, you could see him silently communicate that it would be fruitless.

Little stomping sounds behind you made you turn around to see Billy-Jean and Ramsy prancing over to investigate the commotion. 

“Oh, babies!! Paps, this is Billy-Jean and Ramsy.” He squealed and ran over to get on his knees to pet the kids.

“OH, THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY PRECIOUS, (F/N)! THIS IS RAMSY, I ASSUME?” He pointed to the brown and black spotted pygmy goat.

“Sure is! He’s a monster who eats everything, but I love him.” You look around to show off Billy-Jean, but find her chewing on Sans jacket.

“Billy-Jean! We do not chew on guests’ clothes!!” Sans just shrugs his shoulders and pets the brown and white goat.

“i’m sure they’re just  _ kidding _ around.” Papyrus groans loudly as you snort a little bit.

“Hey, where did everyone go?” You ask, looking around to see that everyone seemed to have disappeared except for Oak.

“THEY MUST HAVE WANDERED OFF TO LOOK AROUND.” You nod your head and turn to see that the chickens have finally stopped chasing Red and Blue. Where the two disappeared off to-, you have no idea.

Ramsy approaches Oak and starts jumping around him in a playful antic to get the large skeleton to play with him. 

He crouches down and pets the pygmy goat, only looking over his shoulder once Billy-Jean- who decided to finally stop munching on Sans jacket- came over to try to stand on top of Oak while he’s bent over.

You laugh a little try to shoo Billy-Jean off of Oak’s back, but he grunts as he continues to pet Ramsy in front of him.

“ ** it’s okay. i don’t mind. ** ” You were a little taken aback at the deep and rumbling voice that left his body. It was like Corpse had a long-lost brother. But you smile anyway and pet Billy-Jean from atop Oak’s back.

She must have gotten bored, as she jumped off and started to rough-house with her brother, leaving you and Oak together after Sans and Papyrus also wandered off.

“Did you want to try to feed the chickens? Usually, they’re not aggressive, but something about Red must’ve irked them.” He let out a deep rumbling from his chest, which you were sure was supposed to be a chuckle.

He followed you quietly as you both walked over to the little, white chicken coop you built for them. Opening your nifty, little food compartment on the side, you got a small bowl full of corn scratch and gave it to Oak. He looked at it- a bit confused as to what to do precisely.

“You can just toss some on the ground, and they’ll all come running for it.” To make an example, you grabbed a handful and tossed it onto the ground, a few catching eye of it and running over. 

He mimicked what you did- an unreadable look was on his face at seeing the colorful assortment of chickens gather around him, pecking away happily at the scratch. He looked a little stiff and awkward, just tossing handful after handful, so you went over and grabbed some of your own.

“Wanna feed them by hand? It doesn’t hurt when they eat out of it.” You say as you crouched down and held out some food- Robin coming over and happily devouring the corn.

He stared a little bit, not looking too sure of himself as he tried to hold out as much food as he could in his cupped hands. You watched excitedly as a few of them ditch whatever was in front of them to flock over to Oak.

He looked quite content. 

After feeding the greedy little jerks, you and Oak walk around, some ducks from the pond nearby randomly deciding to follow you both- though you’re sure they just wanted to follow Oak, specifically. 

You were kind of babbling on about nothing in particular. Mostly about how much the animals like him, gushing over the ducks trying to befriend Oak. Suddenly, he stopped and leaned close to your face, gently grabbing you by your chin.

Your breath got caught in your throat for a hot second as his phalanges rubbed gently on your (s/t) skin. Without warning, he pulled away, leaving you with wide-eyes at his sudden actions.

“ ** sauce ** .” He said, pointing at the spot where he just casually wiped off some leftover sauce from earlier. You exhale and catch yourself covering your mouth while letting out a nervous, breathy laugh. 

“Sorry! You just caught me off guard!” You say. He stays silent, but you both continue heading over to find the others.

“Brother! They Have A Cow!” Willow chirps out. Sure enough, Milky-way was right next to him all leaned up into Willow’s side, begging for more attention. 

Oak’s smile softens at the tan and white cow, who decided to claim her love for Willow with a loud moo and headbutt full of love.

You giggle and scratch Milky-way under her chin.

“Aw! Do you have a little crush on Willow there, Milky-way?” She only moos back, and you look up to see Willow with a bashful smile. “She likes you a lot!” He grins happily and grabs a flower crown off of Milky-way’s back.

“I Hope You Accept Our Gift As A Thank You For Dinner!” He rattles out as he places the flower crown of wildflowers on your head. Your eyes light up as you felt it be bestowed upon your head.

“Thank you, Willow! I love it!” He gives a ‘Nyheh!’ like Paps would, making you wonder if everyone grew up around each other.

Sounds of boots running on the grass made you turn around to see Blue coming over, Red walking behind him with a grumpy pout.

“RED AND I WERE UP IN A TREE TRYING TO HIDE FROM THAT FLUFFY CHICKEN. GOOD THING PAPYRUS CAME OVER AND GOT THEM TO LEAVE US ALONE.”

“no thanks to you guys,” Red grumbled, picking a leaf out of his turtleneck.

As if on cue, Papyrus runs over with Sans in one arm and Henny-Penny in his other.

“(F/N). HENNY-PENNY AND I HAVE BECOME ACQUAINTANCES. SHE LIKES TO ROOST ON MY SHOULDER.” You laugh as he puts a sleepy Sans down and puts the sassy chicken on his shoulder. You have to say- they do look like a power duo.

“ARE WE ALL DONE LALLYGAGGING? I HAVE VERY IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO TOMORROW MORNING.” Edge calls out, Boots and Gizmo sitting at each of his sides. 

A voice over to the right makes you look to see Stretch starting to wake, a few of the chickens upset that their new roosting spot is leaving them.

“leaving already? but i wasn’t done checking out the pond.” This only made Edge roll his nonexistent eyes.

“IT WAS A PLEASURE HAVING DINNER WITH YOU, HUMAN (F/N). I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING OF YOUR TRAINING PROCEDURE WITH THE CHICKENS.” You only snort and smile.

“It was no problem! I’m glad you guys enjoyed it! Maybe  _ some  _ a little more than others.” You say, making a pointed glance between Red and Stretch. They look away in a guilty fashion, Stretch rubbing and cracking his knuckles out of habit.

“YES, WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THAT LATER-” Papyrus also sends the two a squinted look. “BUT I HOPE WE DO THIS AGAIN, (F/N)! I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE OF YOUR COOKING (and visiting Penny…)”

You and Paps give each other goodbye hugs as the group head back towards the shared vehicle, a large amount of satisfaction coming to you.

Yes. These are people you can trust.


	3. The Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So... what's the deal with the living arrangement?

"Paps! I’m glad you’re here today. Are Red and Blue still traumatized?” Papyrus swirled around at hearing the bell above the doorway chime as you walked in- a goofy smile on your face as you recall the two having to wait out the feathered beast in a tree.

“THEY WILL BE FINE, ALTHOUGH BLUE WAS QUITE UPSET THAT HE COULDN’T PLAY WITH THE GOATS.” You smile at the thought of the friendly, starry-eyed cousin. He was charming and reminded you a lot of Papyrus. Speaking of which…

“Hey, Papyrus? Did all of you grow up together? You guys really resemble each other.” You really didn’t think it was that personal of a question, but as you looked over at your companion, he was almost sweating orange bullets.

“U-UH… WELL, YOU SEE, DEAR (F/N)... WE ARE ALL, UH…” You looked curiously at him. You don’t want to pry- quite the opposite, actually.

“Paps, it’s okay if you don’t tell me. If it’s too personal-”

“NO! IT’S NOT THAT IT’S JUST THAT, UH… IT’S A LONG STORY!!” He suddenly looks sure of himself, his nervous reaction from earlier completely fading. “YES! IT IS MERELY A LONG STORY- YOU SEE, WE ARE ALL ACTUALLY STEP-SIBLINGS BUT BECAUSE WE HARDLY SAW EACH OTHER- WE JUST CALL OURSELVES COUSINS.” He had an award-winning smile, but you could see the look of doubt and slight guilt in the darkness of his eye sockets. 

You knew that maybe the story wasn’t exactly what he explained it to be-but he was your friend, and you trust him. After all, if we wanted to tell you, he would! If he didn’t like to share all the details, you’d trust and respect his decision. There’s not a harmful or malicious bone in his entire being.

You smile and hand him some coffee that you brewed for him while he explained his story.

“That’s really cool, Papyrus! It explains why you guys are so much alike. They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” He looked a thousand times more relieved, making you happy to trust your instinct and keep Papyrus from stressing too much.

“YES! IT DOES EXPLAIN A LOT.” He happily takes the pumpkin-spiced latte and guzzles it down. It used to scare you a lot when he did that when you first started to get to know each other- but you guessed that maybe the heat didn’t affect him the same way it would others.

“Speaking of which… How’s the look for a new place to stay coming along?” He smiles a little wearily, setting his drink aside and grabbing some mugs to dry- you joining him in doing so.

“IT’S UH… WELL, IT’S GOING. WE STILL DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TO AFFORD A LARGE PLACE FOR ALL OF US, BUT BLUE AND EDGE HAVE INTERVIEWS FOR A FEW DIFFERENT PLACES TOMORROW.” You smile at the good news but have to take a small breath at your leap-of-faith of a thought.

“That’s great! I hope they get it! But… I was wondering… If you guys want- you don’t have to if you guys don’t want to... you can all stay at my house! That is until you guys get back up on your feet and whatnot. I mean, it’s kind of a long drive to town and all, but-” You were cut off by a large squeeze of the skeleton’s arms wrapped around you.

“(F/N)!!” He cried out dramatically. He was sniffling loudly as he held onto you in a tight embrace.

You were hard of breathing, but your love of Papyrus’s hugs made you squeeze him back.

He pulled back, a few tears in the corner of his eyes with a hopeful smile.

“DO YOU MEAN IT? EVEN WITH EVERYTHING FROM LAST NIGHT??” You exhale with a small chortle.

“The food thing? Nah. Don’t worry about it. As long as your cousins are good people- I’d be happy to help a friend out.” Now he was full-on crying- sputtering out ‘thank you’s’ as he pulled you back into that infamous bone-crushing hug.

He pulled back, walked over to the coat rack, and dug around in one of his pockets before pulling out two envelopes.

“THESE ARE FROM RED AND STRETCH. AFTER WHAT THEY PULLED LAST NIGHT- EVEN WHEN YOU SO KINDLY LET US STAY FOR DINNER- WE GAVE THEM A GOOD EARFUL, AND THEY DECIDED TO WRITE YOU AN APOLOGY LETTER FROM THE GOODNESS OF THEIR SOULS. (and edge’s threats…)”

Bursting into a small fit of giggles, you opened one of the envelopes to read, seeing handwriting that was eerily similar to the comic sans font. You had to squint a little to know that it actually was hand-written, mostly because it was just a smidge sharper than the actual font.

‘dear (f/n),

i am sincerely sorry for the actions that took place last night at your lovely abode. i will refrain from similar enterprises in the future (although it wasn’t actually my fault)- don’t write that, you bumbling moron. the letter must seem genuine. so out of regret from my ~~actions~~ ~~enterprises~~ _conduct_ , i have written this formal apology. 

sincerely,

red’

You raise an eyebrow, a wide smirk on your face.

“Hey, Paps. Did Edge happen to help him with this?” Papyrus nodded happily.

“YES! THEY WORKED VERY HARD ON IT!” You smile and tuck it away, now opening the letter that must be from Stretch.

‘dearest (f/n),

i would like to apologize to you for what i did. it was very wrong, and i am very sorry. i would like to just move on and live a normal life- ya know- get a job and a wife-’

You giggle and stop reading, knowing fully well of what he wrote. You’ll have to tell him you accept his plagiarized apology.

...

The rest of the shift was the two of you being giddy and chattering excitedly about how he can’t wait to tell everyone- Although you have to ask yourself… Would they be okay with staying with you? 

“Hey, Paps. Do you think everyone would be okay with staying at my place, though? I mean, I’m still mostly a stranger to them.” He took a hot second to ponder his thoughts, probably analyzing different scenarios.

“HMM… NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT- I’LL HAVE TO DISCUSS IT WITH EVERYONE! (though I doubt they’d oppose getting away from Blue’s snoring…).” You snort at his last comment but waved him off.

“Don’t worry about giving me an answer right away. It’d be a bigger change for you guys, so it’d make sense for you all to think about it. And don’t feel pressured to say yes! You guys do what you feel is best.” He gave you a grateful look and a hug for good measure, you happily returning it.

Driving back to your house, your phone started to ring over the Bluetooth in your vehicle with the caller ID, ‘sansy.’ Curious, you hit the button on the stereo to accept the call.

“Hey, Sans. What’s up?” Although it put you on edge at hearing him sound a little more serious than usual, Sans voice answers through the speakers.

“heya (f/n). paps came home pretty excited and mentioned something about letting us stay with you- is that right?”

“Yeah! You guys don’t have to make a decision now or anything- obviously, you’ll all want to talk about it first- but I have three spare rooms at the moment, and I’m sure we could split up the basement into maybe two other rooms. Oh! And I have a study room I don’t really use much, so we could also use that...” 

There was a quiet pause, and you had to look at your stereo to see if maybe the call got cut off.

As you were about to say something, Sans responded.

“ya’ wouldn’t happen to be at your place now, would ya’?”

“Yeah. Almost there now. Did you need something?”

“yeah. how about i come over, and we can talk a bit more.”

After accepting, the phone call ends as you pull up into your long driveway. Sans said he’d be here in a little bit, so you enter your house and greet the babes, but before you’re even able to take off your shoes, there’s a knock on your door.

Confused, you turn around to open the door that you entered not even a moment ago.

“Sans? How’d you get here so fast?” You hold out your hand to stop him from bothering to explain. “Wait- I forgot you can shortcut- Come on in.” You let him in and sit across from each other at the table.

“I’m guessing you want to talk about letting you guys stay here?” He chuckled and nodded his head.

“well, i could also get some more lasagna if you want.” You roll your eyes with a grin.

“but in all seriousness, i want to ask if you’re sure about this. i told paps to keep quiet about it until i talked to you- mostly because i want to make sure that this is something you’d truly be okay with.” He folded his hands onto the table in an almost professional manner.

”the stunt those other two pulled can be a common occurrence, and everyone will more than likely fight at times. are you sure you're able to deal with that?” You smile in appreciation at Sans's good intentions.

“Thank you for wanting to make sure that I’m really okay with this, but I don’t mind one bit. Family fight all the time, and a few messes here and there won’t kill me. As long as they’re willing to pick it up afterward, that is.” He closed his eyes and took a long and deep breath.

“there’s more than that- and this is what i needed to tell you the most… they’re all good people in their own ways… but back at you and paps’ work... _i wasn’t lying when i said that they had some skeletons in their closets_ …” His eye-lights seemed to have vanished as he was more than likely recalling something that you weren’t too sure you wanted to know. But, you leaned in anyway, showing that you were listening intently.

“willow and oak both had a _very_ rough past- the hardest out of anyone. there are times where they can go into… episodes. sometimes they’re long. others short- but episodes nonetheless.” You nod, starting to understand the situation. “red and edge also have episodes at times, but less often than the other two. red’s episodes can be more… violent at times.”

“So they’re more than likely suffering from some form of PTSD, am I right?” He nods. You close your eyes and lean back, taking a deep breath in thought.

“I don’t want to pry- but they wouldn’t happen to be seeing someone for this, are they?” He gave a little huff of a laugh as he scratched the side of his skull.

“yes. they are. took a lot of… encouragement… from papyrus, but they’re getting help..” You smile, happy to hear that they’re able to help themselves get better.

“I’m glad to hear that! And thank you for telling me, Sans. Is there anything I would be able to do to help them if they had an episode?” His eye lights make contact with your own.

“you’re still willing to host us?” You smile brightly at him.

“Of course I would! Everyone has their own baggage. Plus, with them already seeing someone, I don’t see a real problem with it. Other than how I would be able to help them- I don’t really ask a whole lot of questions.” He just closes his eyes and slumps back into his chair, letting out a breathy chuckle.

“i can see why papyrus thinks so highly of you.” You can feel your face heat up a tiny bit at the thought. If anything, Papyrus is the one who deserves it the most.

“as for the episode thing- we mostly just try to let them have their space. sometimes getting involved is worse than the actual problem.” You nod along, agreeing with him.

“oh- another thing- what are we thinking with rent?” You just wave dismissively at his question. 

“Don’t worry about it, Sans. Honestly, if you guys just help me around the house and with the animals, I’d be more than grateful-” He just stares at you with widened eye sockets before narrowing them at you. 

“no.” 

You look at him in surprise.

“No?”

“$600. take it or leave it.” You squint at him.

“I’m not taking your money. You guys need help to get back on your feet, and taking money won’t exactly help with that-”

“$700.”

“No, Sans. No money-”

“$800.”

“NO!! NO MONEY!!”

“you’re really killing me here, (f/n). fine. $1000.” You groan loudly.

“Okay, Sans. How about this? $200 a month, and all of you can help me with the house and the animals.” He taps his phalange on his chin, humming in thought.

“$350.” You groan loudly and slam your head onto the table.

“Fine. If it means you’ll keep from trying to hide money in my wallet without me noticing- it’s a deal.” His lazy and carefree smile comes back to his face, a satisfied look on him.

“deal.”

After finally coming to an agreement, you wave goodbye to your friend as he blips away, making you have to blink a few times after seeing him suddenly gone from his spot. You just shake your head and laugh as you close the door.

Now we just wait for an answer.

…

After hearing the sounds of jingling keys at the apartment door, the tall skeleton bolted up and opened the door before Sans could even open it.

“WELL??” Sans takes a deep breath and exhales.

“yes. the deal is still on the table.” Papyrus squealed in excitement and picked up his brother in a tight embrace, swinging him around.

“I TOLD YOU THAT THEY WOULDN’T MIND. YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT GREEN SOULS, AFTER ALL!” Sans eyes his little brother curiously, a large and teasing smile starting to form.

“oh? how’d you figure that one out, bro?” Papyrus’s face burst into a bright orange, stray magic wisping around.

“IT’S NOT LIKE THAT, YOU LITTLE DINGUS!! THEY WERE ASKING ABOUT SOULS, AND THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THEIR’S LOOKED LIKE.” Sans raises his bone-brow with a smug smirk, rubbing his chin.

“suuuure. whatever you say, bro.” Papyrus was now stomping his foot in place, angry puffs of magic steaming off of his head as his blush deepened.

“I SAID IT WASN’T LIKE THAT YOU- YOU-” The sound of the front door swinging open stopped the little banter between the two brothers.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING BEHIND THIS COMMOTION! I COULD HEAR YOUR ARGUMENT FROM DOWN THE HALL.” Sans just shrugs his shoulders, sending a wink towards Papyrus, making him fume.

“SANS HERE HAS AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT.” He says, trying to change the subject before Sans could pull anything.

Blue pipes up from behind Oak and Edge.

“WHAT IS IT? DID THE TOILET GET CLOGGED AGAIN?” Sans shakes his head.

“no. not the toilet this time. why don’t we all come inside so we can talk.” The group of skeletons gave each other side glances, confusion evident as they spill into the small apartment and find different places to sit in the living room- mostly the pillows on the floor where most of them have been sleeping.

Sans and Papyrus stand in front of the group, looking around to make sure everyone was paying attention.

“well, now that we’re all _sit_ uated-” a few groans echo in the room “-papyrus’s friend, (f/n), as you all know now- has offered to let us stay at their home while we try to save up for a new place.” Many eyes wander to those around them as if trying to get confirmation from each other that they heard correctly.

“dinner (f/n)? why would they want us ta’ stay at their place?” Red asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Edge nods along, also having suspicions rising.

“YES. VERY ODD. WHY WOULD ANYONE LET STRANGERS INTO THE SAFETY OF THEIR HOME? WHAT DO THEY WANT FROM US?” Oak and Willow take quick glances at each other, almost questioning it themselves.

“they don’t want much. we’re gonna give them about $350 for rent, and we just help around the house and whatnot.” Red snarled a little.

“$350?? and what? some housework? a little bit of chores? too good to be true there, buddy. they obviously are doing something for their own gain.” Papyrus steps in, now taking over for his brother.

“IT’S NOT LIKE THAT RED! (F/N) IS A VERY TRUSTED FRIEND OF MINE, AND THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE AN ULTERIOR MOTIVE. THEY SIMPLY WANT TO HELP US BECAUSE THEY’RE A GOOD PERSON.” Red kept his eyes narrowed, not believing a word that was said.

“no one does anything unless they want something in return. so, what is it really classic? they got something against you two?” His eye-lights dart back and forth from Papyrus and Sans, looking for any hints of hesitation on their parts. Only, instead, Papyrus’s face softened, a look of empathy on his features.

“RED… I KNOW THAT WHERE YOU AND EDGE ARE FROM WASN’T THE NICEST… BUT IT’S DIFFERENT HERE. SOME PEOPLE CAN BE JUST GENUINELY NICE AND WANT TO HELP OTHERS WITHOUT WANTING ANYTHING IN RETURN.” This only made the edgy skeleton laugh with a slight bitterness.

“I DON’T KNOW, RED. THE HUMAN WAS QUITE NICE LAST NIGHT. THEY DIDN’T EVEN GET MAD WHEN YOU THREW THE LASAGNA AT THEM.” Red’s face blushed with a growl at Blue’s comment.

“yeah, bro. they could’ve kicked us out if they wanted to. ya’ gave them every right to, that is.” Stretch chimed in.

“you bastard!! it was your fault too, and you know it! they’re up to something, and i don’t trust ‘em.” Everyone stayed quiet for a moment before Willow’s slightly softer voice chimed in.

“I Think They Were Very Nice. They Let Me Pet Their Cow And Gave Us Food To Eat. I Also Think The Amount Of Space And Being A Little Bit From Town Would Be A Welcomed Change Of Scenery.” Red grumbled, but the quick look Oak shot at him shut him up real quick.

“ **i agree with my brother.** ” Sans nodded, Papyrus happily clasping his hands together in excitement.

He looked over with hopeful eyes at Stretch and Blue.

“I AGREE! I THINK A PLACE AWAY FROM THE CITY WOULD BE GREAT! AND IT’S NOT TOO FAR AWAY SO WE CAN STILL GET TO TOWN JUST FINE.” He turned to Stretch with stars in his eyes. Stretch gave a lazy smile, continuing to fiddle with the sucker in his mouth.

“i have to agree with my bro on this one. the cheap rent and a better place to sleep than the floor are good enough for me.” Red sends a few pointed glares at everyone, suddenly feeling like everyone was against him.

Sans turned towards the sharp skeleton.

“alright, edge. what're your thoughts? we don’t want to agree to anything unless everyone's in on it.” Saying the last part, he looked over at Red, making the gold-toothed monster look away.

Edge takes a deep breath with his arms crossed, his eyes closed, something he does whenever he’s in deep thought.

“...I AGREE.” Blue and Papyrus cheered excitedly while Willow rattled happily as he looked at his brother.

Red stood up, his magic flaring.

“WHAT? YOU AGREE WITH THESE IDIOTS??” Red yelled. Edge glared back, his eye socket narrowed.

“WHILE I AM SUSPICIOUS OF THE HUMAN, I SAY WE ALLOW OURSELVES A BETTER PLACE TO STAY. WE CAN ALSO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THEM AND DECIDE WHAT TO DO THEN. UNTIL THAT- I WOULD LIKE A PROPER SLEEPING AREA.” Everyone looked towards each other, excitement buzzing, but Sans cuts in.

“wait, guys. that’s not everyone.” He looks over to Red and holds out his hand as a gesture for him to make a decision. “we can’t agree to anything unless _everyone_ is on board.” 

Red looks around the room, all eyes on him. Growing frustrated, he snarled, knowing that he was outnumbered.

_He just can’t win._

In a rage, he stands up with his teeth clenched tight.

“fine!! do whatever you guys want. if you all want to keep living in that little fantasy that everything is all sunshine and rainbows- go ahead! i’m only agreeing because you’ll all turn against me more than you do already!” He angrily pushed his way towards the entrance of the apartment and grabbed his jacket.

He slammed the door behind him as he walked out in his internal turmoil, leaving the room in complete silence.

“SHOULD… SHOULD WE GO AFTER HIM?” Papyrus asked to no one in particular. Edge just sighed and rubbed his nasal bridge.

“DON’T WORRY ABOUT HIM. HE JUST NEEDS TIME TO THINK AND GET HIS ACT TOGETHER. I’LL DEAL WITH IT LATER.” Everyone nodded, the room a little more solemn than what was comfortable.

“W-WELL, AT LEAST NOW WE’LL BE ABLE TO CATCH THOSE FROGS AT THE POND!” Blue chimed in.

This seemed to lighten up the mood a bit. Everyone was buzzing with excitement again at the thoughts of the change of scenery to come.

...

Meanwhile, the glow of red eye-lights peered through the darkness at the house just outside of town.

He’ll show them. And he’ll do _whatever_ it takes to make them believe that he was right _all along_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't mind me sprinkling some anger issues on a boy with trauma 😏 But in all seriousness! I hope you guys liked the chapter and I love all of the nice comments you guys leave!! Good meme potential 😌 Also, Stretch is too lazy to make an apology so he just made it a meme instead 😭 I always accept constructive criticism and I hope you all enjoy it! Remember not to get completely boned ;)


	4. Welcome Home, Friends!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing but moving shenanigans and edgy comments. Also, group affection time because homies are able to show platonic sentiment to homies 😤🤚

The sound of humming from the kitchen could be heard in the silent house, only the breeze from the window joining you in company as you watch the dogs wander outside, no doubt trying to go to the pond to get all muddy and wet again- even though you told them  _ specifically  _ not to.

You’ve caught them guarding the place more than usual in these past couple of days—especially the large oak tree near the pond. You know, because they always manage to come home wet every night, even though you’ve never really seen them swim in it. Maybe there were some magpies being jerks in the tree again? Not exactly sure why they’d try anything at night. Oh! Perhaps it’s a family of raccoons! You should leave some treats for them tonight!

You were waiting by the window to see if you could catch sight of Papyrus’s car so you could help the family unload their stuff into their new temporary home. The night you and Sans had your conversation, he called you later to inform you that it was a yes.

You spent that entire night cleaning the rooms and the house, trying to get the basement and other places set up to look as welcoming as possible… You let out a happy sigh, really hoping that they like staying here while they try to get back up on their feet.

You would be lying to say you’re not excited. You haven’t had people to share your house with since you first bought the place! It’s going to be so fun! You’re all going to have dinner together, be able to spend time with them in the morning for breakfast, maybe take days to watch movies together... You squeal, just happy to have friends to spend more time with for a change. Now you also don’t have to feel guilty when you leave the dogs behind for work! 

Just to cut you out of your thoughts, you see the blue vehicle roll up with a mini U-haul behind it. Thrilled, you slip on your shoes and open the door as the car rolled up.

Papyrus jumped out of the back seat and ran to meet you in a hug; you do the same back.

“(F/N)!!”

“Paps!!” You both have a fit of excited giggles as you both embrace each other. Stretch got out of the driver’s side and gave a relaxed grin as he approached you.

“thanks for letting us stay, (f/n). even though we totally ruined our first impressions.” You only smile and wave it off, just happy that they’re here.

“It’s no problem! I just have to say that your apology letter really made me realize that you were worth redeeming.” He only snorted and took out a sucker to place in his mouth.

“meant every word of it, too.” You give him a playful elbow to his side, making him grin and give you a little shove back. Blue pranced up with a wide grin.

“(F/N)! THANK YOU FOR LETTING US LIVE WITH YOU FOR THE TIME BEING! IT WAS REALLY NICE!” You felt a little bashful at the comment, trying to brush it aside without acting flustered by the compliment.

“Oh, it’s no big deal! I’m happy to help my friends out!” You could see Red coming up from your side, a smirk on his face.

“yeah. it kind of makes me wonder why you’d let some strangers into your house.” You could see in the corner of your eyes that a few of the others were staring hard as the conversation continued. Blue looked a little nervous, but it flew right by your head.

“You’re not really strangers! We had dinner together a few nights ago, so that counts for something, right? Plus, Paps talks really highly of you guys, so I wanted to help my friends out!” Red seems taken aback a bit but only gives a tight smile and walks away.

“sure thing, sparkles.” You look at his retreating form, a little confused at the nickname, but content, nonetheless.

You turn back to everyone to see that they look a little smug. Deciding that you’d rather not know, you join Oak by the U-haul to try to grab some things to help them take inside.

Everyone joined in, one by one, but around halfway through- you also started to lose some—specifically Sans, Red, and Stretch. Red and Stretch were somewhere around, but Sans just napped on the couch while the rest of you continued to haul in things.

“Did you guys want to try to set up the bedrooms? I have two spare rooms upstairs, one down the hall by the bathroom, a study that I cleaned out, and then the basement we could divide up into separate rooms too.” The ones who  _ actually  _ worked agreed.

“The last owners left the beds for the spare rooms, so I just decided to keep them there. But there should be a couple more mattresses and bed frames in the storage side of the attic that we can use for the study and basement.-” You rambled on, pulling the drawstring to have old and rickety stairs slide down. “You guys can go and call dibs on your rooms! I’ll just try to grab those mattresses I was talking about.”

The guys excitedly scrambled to the different parts of the house, looking for the perfect room for themselves (or whoever else they were going to room with).

You could feel the old, wooden makeshift stairs creak loudly under your feet with each step. Now you remembered why you tried to refrain from ever using it again from when you first moved in.

Finding what you were looking for, you walk your way over to the twin-sized mattresses, the bed frames for them leaning against the wall beside it. You peer through the small, circle window near where the mattresses were, staring out over the property. You smile as you see Milky-way trying to play with Gizmo and Boots, fully believing that she was a dog herself.

You turn away from the window and grab one of the beds, dragging it over to the stairs and shoving it down, watching it hit the floor underneath with satisfaction. Two more!

Taking the other mattresses and shoving them down that same way as before, you realized you probably didn’t want to do that with the metal bed frames. 

“Oh! Edge! Do you think you could give me a hand here?” He looked up to meet your eyes.

“NEED HELP WITH MOVING THE BEDS, I PRESUME?” You give a cheeky smile.

“All I need, really, is for you to stay there and grab the bed frames, so they don’t hit the floor so hard.” He accepts and does so, grabbing the bed frames from falling and merely putting them aside as if he were moving paper around.

“IS THAT ALL YOU NEED THEN, HUMAN? BECAUSE, IF SO, I WILL NOW BE ELABORATELY DECORATING MY ROOM TO SUIT MY TASTE.” You smile and agree, waving him off.

“Sure thing! Thanks for the help!” 

You try to carefully make your way down the- hardly considerable- stairs, but the sound of snapping of the wood under your foot made you yelp, now making you fear for your life- and the safety of your neck that would probably snap.

Strong arms swiftly grab your falling form to keep you from hitting the rest of the stairs down, now pulling you close to the guardian’s chest.

You stare wide-eyed as you look up to meet Edge’s concerned look as he held you in a bridal-style position.

“Edge! Thank you!” You say in awe at his quick reaction. You could see dark red blush creep its way onto his cheekbones as he stared at the human in his arms. He quickly set you down to the safety of the floor, turning away from you, and cleared his throat.

“W-WHY YES. IT WOULD DO NO GOOD TO HAVE OUR HOST HAVE ANY SERIOUS INJURIES. IT WOULD SIMPLY SLOW DOWN THE PROCESS OF UNPACKING- CONSIDERING THAT A FEW LAZY-BONES REFUSE TO DO THEIR JOBS.” You smiled at the pointy skeleton.

“How about we get some lunch? I could order pizza.” He huffs but nods.

“YES. I THINK SOME FOOD WITH LACK OF NUTRIENTS WOULD FAIR WELL WITH THE OTHERS.” You shake your head with a small grin.

“Alright, I’ll tell the others.”

You head down the stairs to the main room to see Sans still snoozing on the couch, but Stretch and Red had joined him on their slumber-fest, resting in different places in the living room.

“Still loafing around, I see?” You say to the smaller skeleton in the blue jacket. He peaked an eye socket open with a lazy grin on his face.

“maybe a little. unpacking is sure a  _ pain  _ .” You snort, fully intending to play along.

“ _ Rye _ ? Still a little tired for  _ yeast- _ erday?” His smile widened as he stretched dramatically and placed his hands behind his head, looking up at you from the armrest of the couch.

“maybe a little. why?  _ knead  _ anything from me?” You laugh and come around to sit by his feet. You could hear some chuckling from Stretch, who was casually lying on top of some of the boxes.

“Nothing much.  _ Dough _ , I would like to know what kind of pizza you guys would like for lunch.” You answer back. Red finally jumps in after making a loud and obnoxious yawn.

“finally, some food. i’m starvin’ over here.” You laugh and toss some packaging peanuts at him.

“All that hard work really caught up to you, huh?” He gave a smirk and leaned back against the coffee table.

“oh ya’ know it, sparkles.” His red colored magic surrounds one of the packing peanuts and sends it flying over to bonk you on the head. You match his smirk and cross your arms and legs.

“Trying to recreate a few nights ago, Red.” His eyes narrowed as his golden tooth glimmered. Sans groaned a little and rubbed his face.

“let’s try not to throw food again this time. paps would really blow a fuse-” Speaking of the devil…

“YOU BUNCH OF LAZYBONES!! HAVE YOU ALL BEEN SITTING HERE THIS WHOLE TIME AS WE’VE BEEN UNPACKING?” A chime of ‘YEAH!!’ from Blue coming to Papyrus’s side.

“what can i say, bro? we really worked ourselves to the bone.” Blue stomps over to Stretch, clearly not impressed with his pun. 

Stretch raises a bone-brow to his brother, waiting for a retort, but, instead, gets shoved to the floor, letting out an ‘oof’! You look to see Stretch lying dramatically on the ground looking “dead” before focusing your attention on Paps and the others.

“Oh yeah! What did you guys want for lunch? Edge and I decided some pizza-”

“wait. boss agreed to pizza? the tall guy with a nasty scar on ‘is face?” You raise an eyebrow at Red’s narrowed eyes.

“YOU’LL HAVE SOME SCARS OF YOUR OWN IF YOU DON’T WATCH IT.” Red’s face turned to a nervous look as he started to sweat a little as his brother loomed over his figure.

“i’m okay with cheese.” Sans chimes in. “'love some classic pizza.” Blue shot his arm up.

“OH! OH! PINEAPPLE! PINEAPPLE!” Stretch gave a disgusted look at his brother- ready to say something, but Willow pipes in.

“I Would Also Like Some Pineapple, Please!” Stretch just rolled his eyes, throwing his hand down with a grunt of defeat.

“ ** meat. ** ” You turn behind to see Oak suddenly behind you, looming over the couch you and Sans were sitting on. Sans's eye-lights disappear for a moment, a sweat forming on his forehead- probably from the surprise appearance of Oak.

“Okay!” You chirped back, adding the three-meat to the order on your phone. Sans let out a shaky laugh for a second.

“didn’t see ya’ there, bud.” Oak gave a grunt that rumbled- his voice so deep you could feel it in your chest from your close proximity. They held eye contact for a second, unbeknownst to you.

“Alright, any other requests?” Everyone gave the okay that they were okay with the choices, allowing you to send in the order. “Cool. It’ll probably come in a little while. You guys want to take a break?” Everyone agreed, and Sans yawned again.

“good thing we agreed to this break. i’m beat.” You raise an eyebrow at him as Papyrus yelled.

“YOU UNMOTIVATED BONEHEAD. YOU’VE DONE NOTHING BUT LIE AROUND THIS WHOLE TIME.” Sans shrugged. 

“i took in a box. remember?”

“IT WAS A SHOEBOX, AND IT WAS YOUR PET ROCK.”

“counts for something, right?” Papyrus groaned loudly and sat in the little space next to you, a little huffy. 

You gave Papyrus a quick little ‘cheer up’ bump with your shoulder, making him give one last little huff before resting his skull on your head, his arms crossed in a pouty display- still upset with Sans. You roll your eyes and give a quick nuzzle against his cheekbone with your own softer and fleshier cheek.

“You Two Seem Really Close! Are You Two Mates By Chance?” Willow asked innocently. Papyrus’s face exploded with his orange blush, while your face felt hot to the core in embarrassment.

“NO-” You both yell in synchronization. 

“yeah. it sure would explain a lot-” Stretch said, a teasing smirk on his face just to antagonize the both of you.

“IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!” Papyrus bellowed. 

“NO- NOT AT ALL.” You loudly chimed in.

“WE ARE JUST CLOSE FRIENDS!! AND FRIENDS ARE ALOUD TO BE AFFECTIONATE IN PLATONIC WAYS!” Papyrus explained, his face getting more and more orange as he talked. 

Although he was entirely amused, Sans got up and leaned over into your side, trying to help his brother and friend out.

“sometimes homies gotta be friendly with homies.” You smile and wrap your arm around Sans abdomen and pull him over to sit between you and Papyrus, holding him tighter and giving him a small nuzzle with your cheek on his skull as Papyrus joins in on the group hug. He chuckled as his cheekbones were slightly tinted blue, leaning into the bone-crushing hugs you and Paps gave.

“ABSOLUTELY REPULSIVE!” Edge declared, making the three of you pull away.

“NO, I THINK IT’S SWEET!” Blue spoke out with little stars in his eyes. “DID YOU WANT A FRIENDLY HUG, EDGE?” Blue said. Edge backed away as the excitable skeleton walked towards him with his arms open.

“NO!! IT’S DISGUSTING!!” He yelled, holding his gloved hand on Blue’s skull to keep from him coming closer.

“aw, come on, tough guy. you want to join us?” Sans teased.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! YOUR PLATONIC WAYS OF SHOWING AFFECTION IS ALMOST VOMIT-INDUCING. HOW CLOSE YOU SCOUNDRELS ARE IS ABHORRENT.” Red stands up, wiping the invisible dust off his clothes.

“i agree, boss. people showing this much mushy-gushy friendship crap makes me want to throw up.”

“I LIKE IT!! COULD I JOIN?” You excitedly wave a hand for Blue to come over to join the three of you. He runs over and jumps onto Sans in the middle to pull all of you into a tight embrace. “COME JOIN US, BROTHER.” Stretch waves him off with a shake of his head.

“nah. you have fun.” He pouts but makes eye-contact with Willow.

“WILLOW!!” Willow points at himself with a surprised look.

“Me?” You all nod your heads, and he makes his way over to the couch. He looms over the sofa, trying to figure out where to sit.

“Right here, buddy.” You say, patting the empty space next to you. The lanky skeleton sits, smiling as he makes himself cozy, scooting over to be a little closer to the group.

Red makes vomiting sounds, but you laugh.

“Come on, Red! Come join us! There’s still space next to Willow!” He crosses his arms, but a red tint to his cheekbones ruined the ‘tough-guy’ attitude he was trying to pull.

“ha! as if. i’d rather get hit on the skull with a stick than get all soft with  _ you  _ .” He spat out. Maybe you were thinking a little too deeply, but was he making direct eye contact with you?

There was a slight tension in the room after that last statement.

_ Ding Dong! _

“Oh! Pizza must be here already! I’ll go grab it.” You say, standing up from your spot on the couch and getting the door.

You leave a tip and turn back around to see all eyes are directed at the skeleton with the black and yellow jacket.  _ Oh, good lord, was it tense in here all of a sudden. _

You put a smile on your face and playfully hip-bump the skeleton, surprisingly diffusing the situation a bit.

“Well, if you ever want to join in on a cozy group session, you’re always free to.” 

You put the pizzas down on the coffee table, everyone greedily reaching it to grab a slice of their choice.

You sit back down in your spot next to Willow and eat your pizza.

“Milky-way has been missing you a lot. I think she misses her favorite buddy.” Willow rattled a little in excitement.

“Oh Yes!! I Have Missed Her Dearly Too! I'm Excited To Be Able To See Her More Often Now.” 

Continuing your friendly conversation with the tallest skeleton of the bunch, you can see Oak shyly make his way over and sit on the floor next to the couch, fully content on just listening to yours and Willow’s conversation that somehow lead to trying to figure out how many ducks it would take to overpower someone.

“I really think the average person could probably take on 10 feral ducks, maybe 11 at most- depending on the breed.”

“I THINK I’D BE ABLE TO TAKE ON 15 BECAUSE I’M STRONGER THAN MOST.” You snort as you look over to Blue after his declaration. Stretch adding to it with a ‘build; different’ just to be a menace.

“But Didn’t You Get Bested By One Chicken A Few Days Ago?” Willow asked, a bone-brow quirked in almost a sassy fashion. You slapped a hand over your mouth, trying to hold back from laughing too loudly.

“THAT- THAT WAS A ONE TIME THING!!” Blue tried to defend himself, his face blushing in embarrassment. 

“sure thing, berry. whatever you say.” Sans joined in, nothing by an antagonizing smile and teasing voice to it.

_ SPLAT! _

You held your hand over your face as the pizza hit Sans in the face. 

_ Oh my God. Please,,, Not again… I just got the stains out of my shirt... _

Blue looked just as surprised as everyone else, if not more- even though he was the one to do it.

“blue…” Sans said in a serious tone. Everyone looked to the sides nervously as Blue sputtered out his words.

“WAIT. I-IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!! I SWEAR!! IT SLIPPED! I-”

“thanks for the extra slice. i was runnin' low anyways.”

You let out a sigh of relief, knowing your shirt would still be safe from food for now.

“WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THROWING FOOD?! I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED, BLUE. EVEN AFTER THE SPEECH EDGE AND I SO CLEARLY EXPLAINED-”

Papyrus continued his speech for some time after that, pretty much leaving you brain-dead as you spaced out and thought of nothing in particular- only the drowned out sound of Papyrus still speaking in the background.

You look around the room at your new housemates one by one.

Stretch had an empty look in his eye sockets as he looked utterly zoned out. Edge was eating his pizza on a plate with a fork and a knife, either listening intently or not at all, as he minded his business. Blue looked like he regretted every life decision that led him to this moment. Willow and Oak were both just eating happily, grabbing slice after slice. Sans was just absolutely clocked out as he leaned against his brother, who was still rambling on about who-knows-what because you’re pretty sure the topic changed along the way. And then that left you to make eye-contact with Red. 

He probably didn’t like you. 

You could tell from the moment he stepped out of the car that he didn’t seem to trust you a whole lot. You can’t blame him, though. Remembering what Sans said- you only smile and give him a little wave, making him turn away to avoid your gaze. 

Your smile faltered a little bit, but not enough to wipe it completely. You were going to befriend him.

_ No matter what it takes. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... The immovable object has now encountered the unstoppable force. Only problem is, who's gonna come out as victor with this one?
> 
> Thank you all again so much for reading and constructive criticism is always welcomed 😌 Remember not to get completely boned! ;)


	5. Rest-Assured, We'll Be Alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Different perspective always lead to better understandings of a person

Hearing the birds chirp in the morning and the creeping sunlight start to reach your eyes, you peek them open a bit and groan, but sit up anyways. Wiping the sleep from your eyes, you climb out of bed, your toes curling a bit at the feeling of the chilly wooden floor under your feet.

Another day, but now you’re able to wake up, a little more cheery knowing that you don’t have to eat breakfast alone today!

Slipping on some cute overalls and a little outfit- just to match the aesthetic of it all-, you quietly try to make your way downstairs- mostly since it was about five in the morning. You try to tiptoe your way past the living room, not wanting to wake Oak. 

You’re not sure as to why, but he wanted to sleep on the couch. It was strange to you, especially since everyone either got their own room or buddied up.

Red took the smaller study space for himself, Paps and Blue roomed together in the basement, Sans and Stretch decided to share a guest bedroom, Edge got a whole room to himself, and so did Willow.

It didn’t bother you, not in the least. In fact, Gizmo decided to sleep on the floor next to Oak. It surprised you, considering that Gizmo- although very sweet- he mostly only stayed close to you. You were happy he was starting to expand his horizons.

Slipping on your boots and grabbing your basket full of scraps and vegetables, Gizmo and Boots followed you outside as you tended to the animals.

“Hey, babies! Waiting for me?” Milky-way moo-ed as she stood by the gate, waiting for her treat. “Don’t worry. I didn’t forget.” You gave her her daily carrot, giving her head a pat as you exited the gate.

Heading over to the goats' little home, they excitedly charge out, trying to greedily snatch your basket.

“Ah ah ah! You be patient. I still have grain to refill.” All of a sudden, the two little monsters run away from you, making you confused. They never did that, especially for breakfast.

Turning around to see what was happening- suddenly on high alert for a coyote- your eyes are met with Oak quietly making his way over.

“Oh, Oak! What are you doing up so early?” He shrugged, watching you fill the feeders.

He slowly- and a little bit awkwardly- walked over to the chicken coop and grabbed a bowl of scratch, and started to throw the feed out for them. You laugh a little to yourself as all of the chickens excitedly run over and peck away, Oak smiling a bit to himself as the pond ducks fly over to also join in on the feast.

Walking over to him, you nudge him softly.

“I really think those ducks love you. Usually, they wait for me to leave to try and grab a bite.” He nodded, a little twinkle in his red eye-light.

Oak helped you around the rest of the morning, the whole morning routine going by a lot faster with his help. You taught him how to tend to the garden, and he caught on quite quickly. You watched him reach into his pocket and write a few notes down. You smiled at his dedication, causing him to blush a bit in embarrassment when he caught you watching him write his reminders. He seemed shy, but he was a good listener as you talked about nothing in particular, every once in a while taking notes. Sans happened to mention a little bit about Oak’s occasional memory problems, so you assumed it was to help him remember certain things.

“Your brother is really nice! Is he also good with gardening?” His chest rumbles with a chuckle.

“ **yeah, he’s the best, but not with plants.** **he accidentally put vinegar instead of water, and it killed his cactus.** ” You snort and can’t help but go into a fit of giggles.

“He put vinegar instead of water? How is that possible??” He smiled with a fond look on his face as he continued to pick the tomatoes, examining them for bugs.

“ **don’t know. he was upset for days, though.** ” 

You both continue your little chatting, happy to get to know Oak more. Papyrus was right when he said that he was secretly a teddy bear.

After finishing up in the garden- you both head inside, now seeing Blue up and in the kitchen.

“Hey, Blue. Did you get enough sleep?”

“BOY, DID I. I HAVEN’T SLEPT THIS GOOD IN WEEKS. I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO GET AWAY FROM RED STINKING THE PLACE OUT.” You can’t help but giggle and hover your hand over your face from thinking about the sly skeleton.

“Is anyone else up?” He nodded brightly as he tried to figure out the Keurig to make some iced coffee.

“YES! PAPYRUS AND EDGE BOTH GOT UP TO GO ON THEIR MORNING WORKOUTS.” You shake your head, a playful smirk gracing your lips.

“Sounds like Papyrus. Do you know how his training for fire camp is going?” You grabbed a few bowls and started to measure some flour and milk as you continue your conversation.

“OH YES! HE’S VERY EXCITED TO BE A FIREMAN. I HOPE I CAN BE ONE TOO!” You gave him a hip-bump as you walked past, stirring some of your beginnings of batter for the crepes.

“I’m sure you could! You both seem more than strong enough to do it.” A light blue blush dusted his face as he gave a proud smile with his chest puffed out.

“MWEHEHEH! MAYBE I SHOULD SHOW YOU HOW STRONG I AM ONE OF THESE TIMES! FOR NOW, WHY DON’T I HELP WITH BREAKFAST!” He excitedly grabbed some eggs from the basket you and Oak gathered this morning, aggressively cracking them open to add to the batter.

You and Blue continued to make breakfast together- but you have to say- there were a few times where you had to quickly intervene with his… intense… way of doing things. But! Overall it was fun! You turned on the radio at some point to some cheesy early 2000’s music, and you and Blue both danced around together, laughing and giggling. Little man had some moves as you both tried to dougie! Oak chuckling as the two of you looked like fools- dancing around and giggling while trying to cook breakfast all at the same time.

“Wowie! Breakfast Looks Good! Did You Make All This?” Willow entered the room, wearing a sweater that was a little baggy on him- though- he was a skeleton, so that makes sense.

“YUP! (F/N) MADE SOME CREPES ALONG WITH THE EGGS! I MADE SAUSAGE AND HASHBROWNS!” Oak smirked with a raised bone-brow as he looked towards his tall brother.

“ **(f/n) actually made them. blue almost burned the kitchen down.** ” Blue’s face glowed from embarrassment and sent Oak a quick glare.

“IT’S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS!” You laugh and nudge Blue.

“Absolutely, it does.” Blue gives a prideful huff, crossing his arms in an ‘I told you so’ way, making Oak roll his eye light.

One by one, everyone either returned to the house or sluggishly made their way downstairs, perking up at the smell of breakfast.

A dramatic yawn and lip-smacking- or slight teeth clacking, you suppose- from Red announced his presence, groaning in a cartoonish way, making Edge roll his eyes.

“man, that’s the best sleep i had in weeks. finally my back isn’t so sore from sleepin’ on the stupid floor.” Everyone agreed in their own way, and Red made his way to the table to grab his share. “geez, willow. that yer’ third plate already? hardly anything left.” Willow frowned with a narrowed gaze.

“Is That Your First Strike Already?” You and everyone snickered under their breath, making Red shoot everyone dirty looks. 

“You And Blue Sounded Like You Were Having Fun This Morning!” Willow chirped out, trying to start a conversation.

“OH YES! WE DANCED AND MADE BREAKFAST TOGETHER! THEY EVEN TAUGHT ME THE CUPID SHUFFLE!” This led to Stretch snorting.

“seriously, bro? the instructions are in the song.” Blue pouted, kicking his brother’s leg under the table.

“IT’S HARDER THAN IT LOOKS!” Red turned to you, a certain gleam to his eye-lights.

“got any special moves there, sparkles?” You quickly tried to swallow your food so you wouldn’t talk with your mouth full.

“Not really! Blue and I just made it up as we went!” He let out a half-hearted chuckle as he leaned back in his chair a bit. “Oh! I have to get going to work! I’ll see you guys later! Try not to throw food while I’m away!” You say as you gave a playful grin to Red and Blue.

“I’LL MAKE SURE THEY DON’T!” Papyrus promised. You say your little goodbyes and head out the door after giving Gizmo and Boots their little kisses on the tops of their heads.

...

As the door clicked, signaling that they left, Stretch gave out a content sigh.

“well, i think i’m going to check out that pond. maybe do some fishing.” Blue gave his brother a confused look.

“YOU DON’T OWN A FISHING POLE.” Stretch shrugged.

“it’s a string with a stick, right? same thing.” Blue rolled his eye-lights, watching as he made his way out of the house, Boots hot on his trail.

Sans stretches and lets out a groan, sighing in contentment as he stood up from his place.

“i think i’m going to check out the place. maybe find a new napping spot.” Papyrus huffs and crosses his arms.

“YOU SLEEP STANDING UP. WHY WOULD YOU POSSIBLY NEED ANOTHER NAPPING SPOT.” Sans just shrugs and blips away.

“WELL, WHILE THOSE LAZY-BONES DO THAT- I’M GOING TO GO SHOPPING AND FILL OUT MORE APPLICATIONS. CERTAINLY, ONE OF THESE PATHETIC STORES WILL FINALLY REALIZE MY SUPERIOR SKILL-SETS AND LET ME TAKE OVER THEIR POORLY RUN BUSINESS.” No one was going to say anything, especially knowing that Edge would never take criticism for how he… well… tries to “ _insert_ ” himself into management position- even if he never even stepped foot into the store before that moment.

“W-WHY DON’T I COME ALONG! I COULD HELP YOU FIND SOME GOOD PLACES THAT ARE HIRING!” Papyrus chimes in, a little nervous about Edge- not only for how he asks for a job- but how he drives the car. 

He’s not bad! He’s just… a defensive driver, to say the least.

“WHY DON’T I COME TOO! I WAS THINKING WE GET SOME STUFF FOR DINNER TONIGHT SINCE (F/N) MADE BREAKFAST!” Edge closed his eyes and crossed his arms with that reluctant look he does all the time.

“FINE! I SUPPOSE IT COULD BE BENEFICIAL IF WE BOTH GOT APPLICATIONS SO WE CAN DOUBLE OUR CHANCES OF GETTING INCOME.” They happily nodded along and left the house after cleaning up the remains of breakfast.

Red made his announcement of just going back to bed, and Willow decided to go off and play with Milky-Way again. Now Oak was left alone.

Well- not entirely alone.

Gizmo happily sat next to Oak’s side, giving him a happy smile and a wag at his nubbed tail. Oak chuckled and gave the rottweiler a pat on his head as he made his way out to explore the property.

It was quite a lot of land. How (F/n) managed to get so much space with no neighbors for the next five miles is beyond him. Oak was planning to travel alone and just explore, but Gizmo decided to accompany him. He didn’t mind. He liked the dog- even if he looked a little rough around the edges.

Looking around for a while and watching Gizmo try to chase some poor little rabbits around- never able to catch them- Oak sat down underneath some of the birch trees nearby, fully content as he looked around at the landscape. He had to admit, at quiet and peaceful times like these, his mind can’t help but wander. 

They were pleasant at first- thinking about his brother and how excited he seemed to be to the change of scenery… but then they started to get a little bit darker as he thought about the place they lived before the surface… 

As much as he tried to push the thoughts away, memories of the underground would start to creep their way in, making him have to try to shake his head to get rid of them. Can’t he just rest for once? They’re far away from that place now… heck… dimensions away from it...

He held his head, starting to get frustrated as the echoes of the underground bounced around. He began to nervously pick away at the hole in his head, leaving some scratches and accidentally chipping off some thinner areas of his skull. The scraping of bones against each other echoed throughout the region, a sickening sound that would leave others horrified upon hearing it. 

His thoughts were interrupted by sounds of whimpering that came from next to him.

His red eye-light met the chocolate brown eyes of Gizmo as he whimpered nervously and came closer to Oak. He pressed his wet nose into the side of Oak’s face before starting to softly lick the hand that was picking away at the gaping hole in his head. Oak’s negative thoughts began to steadily dissolve into an untroubled state of mind. His hand slowly retracted from his wound as he made eye contact with the scar-bodied dog. He can slightly recall what (F/n) said yesterday. Something about how the gentle rotty was once part of dog-fighting.

Oaks chest rumbles with a low, mirthless chuckle.

“ **guess we’re not so different, you and me. forced to fight to survive…** ” He gently rubbed his phalanges around Gizmo’s missing ear. “ **left with a few scars of our own…** ” Gizmo wags his nubbed tail as he pressed his head into Oak’s own, giving a big lick to the side of Oak’s face. This caused him to chuckle more whole-heartedly.

“ **we’ll be okay. both of us.** ”

...

“heya, bud. mind if i join?” One of Stretch’s eye sockets opened to see Sans sitting next to him under the oak tree by the pond. Stretch shrugged and twirled the sucker in his mouth, leaning further into the trunk of the tree to continue his dozing session. Sans let out a happy sigh as he laid down with his arms behind his head, looking at the clouds as they rolled by.

“it’s nice,” Stretch said suddenly. Sans looked over at his fellow lazy companion, seeing him crack his knuckles with his usual nervous energy. Sans just smiled and looked back up to watch the clouds with Stretch.

“we never had sights like this in the underground,” Sans remarked. Stretch nodded in agreement.

“this entire area is so different from what my bro and i are used to… it’s… welcoming,” Stretch said as he propped himself up to view the pond. Sans joined him as they watched Boots occasionally jump into the pond or curiously prod her nose into annoyed toads as they hopped away. Sans chuckled as the dog shook herself off and happily trotted over to greet Sans.

“whoa there, buddy. you’re gonna make us soaked to the bone if you try to greet us like that.” Stretch let out a chuckle at the stupid pun and used his magic to throw a stick for her to fetch.

“so, how long have you and (f/n) known each other?” Sans let out a hum in thought.

“i’d say a little over two years now.” Boots came back with her stick, and Stretch threw it for her again.

“you and papyrus seem close to them. though, you probably wouldn’t agree to stay here if you weren’t.” Sans chuckles.

“they’re cool. paps always talked really highly of them when they first met- so it only made sense that i try to know them. never did anything to cause alarm- pretty much harmless if you ask me. so we just casually became friends over time. papyrus is the closest with them, though.” Stretch let out a ‘heh,’ thinking about the brother.

“seems to me that he really likes them.” Sans can’t help but laugh.

“two peas in a pod. although that seems to get them into trouble at times.”

“mmm. never took (f/n) for the rebel type.”

“heheheh. nah. they’re just both impulsive. had to save them a few times from either getting arrested or kicked out for their shenanigans.” Stretch started to unconsciously scratch away at his phalanges, making Sans have to softly nudge him so he could break away from his nervous habits.

“heh. sorry. just thinking about how i could try to keep those three separated from each other.” Stretch said, thinking about what could possibly happen if Blue decided to join in on the shenanigans. Sans lets out a short laugh. 

“have fun with that. chaos attracts chaos.”

...

“I’M TELLING YOU THAT THEY WOULD MUCH PREFER CHICKEN CORDON BLEU RATHER THAN JUST A CHICKEN CASSEROLE.” The sharp skeleton says, stomping his heel onto the hardwood floor in the kitchen.

“NO WAY! CHICKEN CASSEROLE IS SAID TO BE A CLASSIC HUMAN DISH THAT THEY SUPPOSEDLY ENJOY. THEY SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING NICE AND FAMILIAR RATHER THAN YOUR CORN-ON-BLUE.” Blue retorts. Papyrus and Willow give each other a side-eye look as they watched the two competitive skeletons argue over dinner. They wanted to do something nice for dinner to thank their host for breakfast that morning, but from the looks of it, dinner might be served the next day for how this argument is coming along.

“IT’S CORDON BLEU- AND ALL MONSTER AND HUMAN FOODS ARE THE SAME- THE HUMANS JUST DON’T HAVE THE MAGIC IN IT!” Blue protectively held the packaged chicken to his chest as the two had a glare-down with each other.

Red came down the stairs, grumbling about being woken up. When he saw the scene before him, he just sighed and sat down next to the other two papyruses. 

“they arguin’ again over dinner?” They nodded, watching as the two bickered some more back and forth. The sound of the door opening to see the lazier bunch walk in, making the two stop their back-and-forth arguing for a moment.

“STRETCH! DO YOU THINK THAT WE SHOULD MAKE CHICKEN CASSEROLE OR CORN-ON-BLUE?” He asked with that well-known heated passion to let the group know that he and Edge were at it again. Stretch sighed as he set Boots down, the dog happily going over to greet her other dog companion, still wearing Stretch’s hoodie in her dampened state.

“AS I TOLD YOU BEFORE- IT’S CORDON BLEU.” They start to bicker again before he’s even able to answer. The sound of the door closing alerted everyone that (F/n) was back from work.

“Oh hey! What’d I miss?” Edge and Blue shot each other a quick glare, ready to try to pounce on the human for an answer to their argument. Much to Blue’s dismay- Edge was faster to the punch as he cleared his throat and stood taller to compose himself.

“WELL, HUMAN (F/N)- BLUE AND I WERE HAVING A PLEASANT CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE’RE GOING TO COOK SOME OF MY CHICKEN CORDON BLEU TONIGHT-” Edge was cut off abruptly by a forced smile from Blue.

“OH SILLY EDGE! YOU MEAN CHICKEN CASSEROLE! YOU SEE, WE WERE GOING TO-” Edge was quick to cut off Blue this time.

“NO NO! I DO RECALL US AGREEING ON CORDON BLEU. REMEMBER? IT’S A HUMAN CLASSIC.” Edge gave Blue the most crap-eating-grin possible, making the smaller skeleton clench his teeth so tight that the human in their presence thought that they might shatter at this rate. 

Sans stepped in the middle of the two, a nervous smile on his face.

“no need to argue over dinner! why don’t we-”

“YES. HURRY AND MAKE CORDON BLEU SO WE CAN EAT. GREAT IDEA SANS.” Blue’s eye socket twitched, and the loud, deep-breath he took was enough for everyone to try and cover their ears.

Like a saving grace- an actual angel- a miracle from heaven itself- Gizmo made his way next to Sans and let out a loud bark- almost as if warning them to knock it off.

The two skeletons who were, just a moment ago, ready to claw at each other’s non-existent throats, were suddenly holding each other tight as Blue jumped into Edge’s arms. 

Satisfied with his work, Gizmo sits down with a smile and wags his tail as he waits for Sans’ approval. Well, it worked.

Sans let out a relieved smile and gave the dog a good pat on the head.

“atta’ boy.”

The two, who bickered like a married-couple, pulled away from each other with nervous looks as (F/n) came over.

“Why don’t I make dinner? I can-”

“NO!!” (F/n) jumped back as the other two shouted their protest. They both took a little bit to compose themselves before turning back- much more calm. “IT WOULD SIMPLY BE UNFAIR TO MAKE YOU PROVIDE US WITH MAKING ALL OF OUR MEALS.” Blue jumped in along with Edge’s comment.

“YEAH! CONSIDER A THANKS FOR BREAKFAST!” They smiled and laughed a little bit, waving them off.

“Okay, I’ll let you guys make dinner. Just please try not to destroy the kitchen…” They both replied with a ‘we won’t,’ and that was that.

Red had watched the entire interaction in silence- like most of them. But, he had to say, he was satisfied with the calm way they handled the situation, although it’s not like he should be impressed with it- Red's not awestruck for them acting like a decent person- he’s just a little more at ease seeing how they didn’t appear angry or upset over it. Most people would probably be taken aback a bit at the group’s interactions with each other- but they seemed to not mind it much. Either that or they were a great actor.

He looked over to see that they were gushing over Boots wearing Stretch’s hoodie- his excuse being that she looked cold after coming out of the pond. He couldn’t help but give a half-hearted chuckle at Stretch’s thought process. Although he’s technically like a sans where he’s from, he’s still a papyrus at heart- not to mention the youngest of the group. Probably where he gets those snarky comments at times.

The rest of the night, Red was always keeping tabs on (F/n). It wouldn’t make sense to make them feel like he was suspicious of them entirely- no- it’d blow his cover. All he had to do is keep conversations to a minimum and observe from the outside. In the underground, you learned quickly that actions spoke much louder than words. He had to say, though, they made him frustrated. He _knows_ there’s something up with them. He can feel it in his bones. And he’ll be damned if he lets them get away with whatever they want from them. It’s just a matter of _what_ they want.

He’s been trying to observe them from when he first heard the news of moving in with them, but those dogs always managed to pick up his scent! They were too obvious, so he tried to use his magic to splash them with mud so they’d go away, but they seemed to relish in it! Thought it was some game or something! So he had to abandon that plan. He couldn’t risk getting caught with them constantly barking up his tree.

He tried other places around the property- like the chicken coop- but that stupid alpha-chicken or whatever was a real pain in his neck. Quite literally, too. Got him good when he wasn’t paying attention.

Just thinking about his failed attempts slightly irked him. When he got to the house, however, that was a complete game-changer. A few times yesterday, he was able to check all the nooks and crannies of the place, trying to find as much information as he could on them. He didn’t find much- just some old pictures of- what he assumes- was of their family. But today… oh, today... he hit the jackpot. 

With them being gone for most of the day and everyone else doing their own things- he was finally able to get a thorough look around the place. And that meant that their bedroom was finally fair game, especially without the dogs there to follow his every move and possibly being protective over it. 

He grinned, feeling the small notebook inside his jacket. He was going to drop it off in his temporary room, but he didn’t want to take the chance of anyone else finding it. Especially classic.

If Red’s been keeping tabs on (F/n), Sans kept twice the tabs on Red. Today, Sans finally slipped up on keeping watch, and, oh boy, was Red a happy camper. Heck- He’ll even pretend to be buddies with (F/n)- because once he finally reads inside that little journal of theirs’, he’ll find what he was looking for. Then Red will be able to have an answer to his suspicions, and he’ll _finally_ get everyone off of his back for once. He can _finally_ stop getting those _stupid_ looks of pity everyone gives him. 

**Those bastards know nothing of what he and his brother went through. He’s not crazy. He’s right, and he _knows_ it. **

After dinner, everyone continued joking around as they cleaned up, (F/n), having fun with Willow and Blue as they did the dishes and blew bubbles with the dish soap. Red let out a tired yawn and decided to call it a night. Everyone gave him a ‘night!’ as he headed towards the entrance to his make-shift room that was pretty much entirely overtaken by all the houseplants kept in there. Red made sure to give a quick look around before blipping over to his post outside. 

After his two failed attempts- (along with being able to search the place since moving in), he found that the area a little bit behind the garden had the perfect clearing to see into the house and to be able to easily hide away in if the dogs happened to go outside at that time.

Although, what he didn't realize as he left, was a particular skeleton who happened to be around the corner at that time.

...

Shaking hands held the small journal as sharp claws started to dig into the leather cover- leaving apparent evidence of being manhandled by eyes that should not be prying.

_'Dammit! Why can’t he just open it already!? Open the damn thing!'_

Red’s phalanges gripped at the cover, ready to open it and finally find his answers- but he hesitated… 

_'Dammit, you coward! What’s the matter with you!?'_ He was breathing hard, his soul pounding against his ribcage.

**_But… What if he didn’t find anything…? What if he did all this for nothing?_ **

Those nights when he had stayed awake just to monitor them… The times he would take a jab at them only to provoke them… Heck… Going behind everyone’s backs to get this stupid journal… All for nothing.

"no! there has to be something! _"_ He said aloud, gripping it tighter.

“BROTHER.” Red nearly had a heart attack at the sudden, harsh voice. 

He quickly shoved the journal into his coat, turning around with bullets of sweat running down his face- most being there from earlier amid his inner turmoil. 

“b-boss! what are you doing out here? i thought you’d be in bed by now.” Edge’s gaze narrowed at his stuttering mess of a brother.

“I WAS GOING TO UNTIL I NOTICED SOMEONE RETIRE TO BED FAR TOO EARLY.” Red’s breath quickened again, his soul thumping harder than it did before. If he had ears, he'd definitely hear it pounding through them too.

His brother took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

“Brother. We Clearly Need To Talk.” Edge’s voice softened- something Red hasn’t heard in a long time. “This Situation With (F/n) Must Come To A Stop.” Red’s hands start to tremble as he feels his magic begin to flare up a bit. 

Edge narrowed his eyes, knowing that Red was going to go into another episode if he didn’t put a stop to it now. And this one would be nasty.

“Sans… I Know You Have One Of (F/n)’s Possessions. I Suggest You Give It Back Before Things Get Out Of Control.” Red snarled, tearing at some of the nearby flowers as his magic flared out more. Edge just watched as the shredded rose petals slowly fluttered their way to the ground. 

His patience was running thin, but he knew not would be the time to provoke his older brother.

“what do you possibly know! yer' jus’ like the rest of ‘em! you think i’m jus’ paranoid, don’t ‘cha?? well, guess what!? **_i have everything to prove that i was right all along- right here!_ ** _”_ He pulled out the notebook that showed deep indents from Red gripping it so tightly with his sharp fingertips. 

Edge could see his brother start to lose control of his mind- his body. His thoughts were only focusing on his own paranoia, not on the bigger picture at hand.

“And What If You Don’t Find Anything?” Edge asked. It wasn’t antagonizing in any way. It was just a simple, almost innocent, question that left Red speechless as his body started to slow from it's shaking. He thought back to his earlier fears.

What if he didn't find anything?

Sudden red streams of hot tears are sliding down the skeleton’s face, wasting little time to hit the ground as he collapsed into himself, heaving heavy breaths as he pounded the grass with his fists. He let out loud cries of frustration, anger, confusion... whatever mix of strange emotions that plagued him this entire week.

Edge kneeled down gently beside his vulnerable brother, roughly grabbing him by the back of the jacket to pull him into a harsh but well-meaning embrace. 

“dammit. _dammit. Dammit._ **_DAMMIT!!!_ **” Edge just held his brother tighter as he let out his frustrations, Red's hot tears starting to soak through his clothes. Usually, he’d say something, but he’ll let it slide this time.

“what if i did it all for nothing? i made myself look stupider than i already am! they’ll find out what i did sooner or later, and we’ll lose the place... it’d be all my fault…” Red clung onto his brother- almost ashamed that he- the older brother- was looking towards his younger sibling for reassurance and comfort.

“I Don’t Think You’ll Have To Worry About That, Sans.” Red continued to let it all out as he tried to soak up as much of Edge’s somewhat uncomfortable hold. 

He was never really good at affection.

“Sans… When Was The Last Time You Talked To Your Therapist?” Red closed his eyes, already dreading answering the question from the last time he talked to Marcia.

“three... three weeks.” He was expecting Edge to pretty much toss him into the nearest tree- and he could tell he wanted to-, but instead, Edge took a deep breath and held onto Red a little tighter.

“Brother… No One Can Simply Expect To Be Completely Healed After Just A Few Appointments. I Know You Said That You Felt Better After Your Appointments, But She Taught Me That It’d Be The Same Thing As An Athlete With A Broken Bone Trying To Run A Race Once They Felt Better. You Still Have To Continue Training And Healing.” Red grumbled. He was right. 

Damn, that woman was good at her job.

Red started to pull away, giving Edge the cue to let go of his hold on the smaller monster.

“i-i’ll call the therapist in the morning,” Red said, his face still a little flushed from his complete meltdown from earlier. Edge gave a huff, puffing his chest out to try to get back his dignified look.

“AS YOU SHOULD. NOW LET’S GO INSIDE AND _ACTUALLY_ GET SLEEP. I KNOW YOU’VE BEEN SNEAKING AROUND THIS PAST WEEK.” Red sighed and rubs his skull, a small headache starting to form.

“heh. that obvious, huh?” Edge gave a ‘hmph.’

“OBVIOUSLY. I’M YOUR BROTHER AFTER ALL. I KNOW WHEN SOMETHING’S WRONG.” Red just chuckles, rubbing any stray tear marks off his face. “SANS… IN ADVANCE FROM NEVER SPEAK OF THIS AGAIN- YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT NO ONE THINKS OF YOU AS 'CRAZY.' THEY WERE SIMPLY WORRIED WAS ALL.” Red nods, feeling guilty at the few times he’s snapped at the others while they were packing the apartment up. He… He definitely was out of line, to say that least…

“AND BEFORE WE GO… I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I FOUND THAT (F/N) IS NO THREAT. I’VE DONE OBSERVATIONS OF MY OWN AND THERE’S NO NEED TO BE SUSPICIOUS OF THEM. WORD FROM PAPYRUS IS THAT THEY HAVE A GREEN SOUL TO TOP IT OFF... I FIND NO REASON TO INVESTIGATE THEM FURTHER.” Red let out a long breath with a half-hearted chuckle.

“heh. green.... big surprise there…” He sees the notebook lying on the ground still. Anyone could see that exact placement of his fingers with the deep indent on the covers.

“shit... what do we do about the notebook? they’ll surely know i did something to it…” Edge just takes it from his hand and puts it into his leather jacket.

“DON’T WORRY. I GOT IT HANDLED. BUT I MUST ASK… YOU SURE YOU DON’T WANT TO READ IT?” Red’s eye-lights meet the taller skeleton’s for a second, but he looks away, his usual attitude starting to come back to him.

“nah... probably about something stupid like rainbows ‘n’ butterflies or somethin’ green souls do.” Edge turned away as they both headed back inside the house, a small but proud smirk on Edge’s face.

...

After finally properly dealing with his brother, Edge promptly went to his room to get ready for his night's rest. He got changed into his nightwear and neatly folded his days' outfit to put it into the dirty laundry hamper before grabbing the nearby journal that had been all clawed up and tossed it into the trash without care. The notebook's pages fluttered open to show nothing but blank sheets of paper.

He knew his brother would make the right choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is a little longer than most! I just wanted to drive a little deeper into everyone's thought so that way it isn't always black and white from reader's perspective 😌


	6. Write This One Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Normal shenanigans with a new added member! And some other stuff... but we'll get to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people said that they liked the tips in the beginning! So here you are!!  
> Tips:  
> (F/n)- First name  
> (L/n)- Last name  
> (s/t)- Skin tone  
> (h/c)- Hair color  
> (e/c)- Eye color  
> (y/h)- Your height
> 
> ~~~ In case you forgot some names for the boys!~~~  
> Undertale Sans- Sans  
> Undertale Papyrus- Papyrus/Paps  
> Underswap Sans- Blue  
> Underswap Papyrus- Stretch  
> Underfell Sans- Red  
> Underfell Papyrus- Edge  
> Horrortale Sans- Oak  
> Horrortale Papyrus- Willow  
> (Oak and Willow’s names are inspired by ratsoh-writes on tumblr!)  
> Also! You can follow me on tumblr as completelyboned! I honestly just mostly make memes about Undertale stuff and Bone-ward Bound content AKFKDSJKSLSA

Humming softly, you put on your boots at the door, waiting expectantly to hear the tip-taps on the hardwood floor from Boots and Gizmo. It was fine at first- a little odd they weren’t right at your feet the second you woke up-but they never came. 

Confused and almost a little worried, you make your way out back and look around, trying to find your two companions.

As you walked closer to the gate to leave the garden, you see Oak leaning against the side of the house, the two dogs in question at his side. 

“Oh, Oak! Came to join me again?” He looked over to you with a soft smile, but the twinkle in his eye-light showed that he was excited to tag along again. You look over at him with a smile of your own, softly nudging into his side. “I like the hat. It looks nice on you.” His face was now dusted with a deep blue as he looked away.

“ **thanks. my brother got it for me.** ” You watched as he tried to pull the straw hat further down as if almost trying to hide in it.

The morning being spent with Oak really made you cheery, especially because now you have someone to actually talk to-, not just the animals and plants.

There were a few times where Oak suddenly stopped what he was doing and would wander around, looking puzzled- or place things in odd places- luckily, you were there to remind him of what he was doing.

“ **sorry. i forget things at times.** ” You just nudge him lightly with a care-free attitude as he kneeled beside you as you pulled some weeds around your rose bush. Odd… Some of the petals looked like someone through them with a knife…

“It’s no problem, Oak! I’ll gladly try to remind you of things if you’d like.” His chest rumbled with gratitude. He stayed quiet as you just continued to tend to the weeds when he broke the comfortable silence.

“ **thank you.** ” You turn to him with slight confusion.

“What for?” He looked down with an almost bashful look on his face.

“ **for being nice to my bro and me.** ” You turn to him more fully as you put your dirt-covered gloves onto your lap.

“Of course, dude. You guys are awesome! Besides, that’s what friends are for.” His eye-light shone with thankful glimmer. “Hey. And if you ever need anything, you can always ask. I’d be more than happy to help.” He nodded, giving another one of those tender smiles.

You stand up and dust off your clothes and hold out a hand for Oak. 

“Why don’t we make some breakfast?” He took your hand, and you both head inside the house.

You made breakfast as Oak wandered off somewhere- but the sound of footsteps coming around the corner made you look over to find Red coming into the kitchen.

“Hey! Morning, Red. You’re up early.” He just lets out a low and breathy chuckle.

“heh. well, i thought you’d like some help since that was kind of the deal.” You just smile and make room for him to come over. He just stands close to you as you mix the pancake batter.

“i... i’m… sorry.” He grumbled out with an almost embarrassed look on his face.

“What for?” He just looked to the side to avoid eye-contact.

“fer’ everything. i was… a jerk, to say the least.” You give him a soft-hearted smile and lean in to give him a hug. At first, he seemed shocked at the sudden affection but chuckles a little under his breath to return your hug. You forgot he wasn’t Sans for a hot second-, so you mistakenly nuzzled him with your cheek before pulling back.

“Oh! Sorry! I forgot you weren’t Sans for a second there! Hehe… You guys sure are a lot alike.” He only smirked as he cooly slipped his hands into his pocket, but his face was a deep red to match his bomber.

“ya’ have no idea… but if ya’ wanted to be closer ta’ me, you could ‘ave jus’ asked.” He said with a flirty tone, making you snort and playfully hit his arm.

“Psh, whatever, man. You want to cut some strawberries for me? Oak helped me gather them this morning.” He grabbed the basket with the fresh strawberries and masterfully cut them with the knife, greatly impressing you.

“Do you cook often?” He continued his cutting with a small, slightly embarrassed look.

“nah. that’s more of my bro’s thing. i jus’ bake time-to-time.” You gasp and clasp your hands together.

“You bake?!” He looked at you and chuckled with a slim glimmer of pride.

“‘course i do. ever since we showed up ‘ere- spent time in the apartment experimentin’ to keep me from goin’ crazy.” You excitedly continued to flip the pancakes.

“That’s so cool!! Maybe we could bake together sometime!!” He laughed more whole-heartedly.

“calm down there, sparkles. It’s not that exciting. doesn’t vanilla work with ya’ at a bakery?” You smile at the nickname for Papyrus and place the pancakes onto a large plate for everyone to grab at their own pace.

“Yeah, we do- but it’s great to know that we have another member to add to our bakers' club! We could be the baker trio!” He placed the strawberries and syrup next to the plate of pancakes on the table. “So what’s with the nickname sparkles, anyways?” He gave you a smirk.

“ya’ really want to know, huh?” You nod your head with a smile. “it’s cuz’ yer’ eyes always look like their sparklin’. like starry-eyes over there-” Blue walked in with the other two giving a ‘HUH?’ at the sound of his name. “kinda gross if ya’ ask me.”

You snort and give him another playful punch to the shoulder.

“Well, thanks, Red. I think… Maybe I should call you poppy or something.” Blue ran over to the table that you and Red were sitting at.

“OH! OH! NICKNAMES!! I WANT TO JOIN!” Red rolled his eye-lights.

“ya’ already got one, blue.” Blue huffed and crossed his arms as he grabbed his share of pancakes, Papyrus and Edge joining.

“Oh! Blue isn’t your name?” You ask, surprised. Everyone at the table suddenly had their eye sockets widen a little, a nervous sweat starting to break out on each of them.

“WELL… UH… IT’S, UH,,,” Blue stammered. Edge jumped in, sputtering a little, which made you furrow your eyebrows at the uncharacteristic change of speaking manner.

“I-IT’S SIMPLY A LONG STORY. YES! A LONG STORY THAT HAS NO NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.” You give Paps a confused look, but he quickly averted from holding eye contact for too long.

“Oh… Uh… Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry…” You say, wondering if maybe you somehow said something wrong. 

Blue shot up out of his chair, slamming his hands down with nervous but determined eyes.

“N-NO! IT’S OKAY… IT’S JUST… WEIRD IS ALL.” You gave him your full attention, ready to listen.

...

He couldn’t help it!! They just looked completely dejected after Edge’s comment! He couldn’t sit there and not try to make them feel better! Blue looked around nervously to the others, who also made side-eyes of concern, unsure of his next move. This is all his fault!! He shouldn’t have brought up nicknames!!

Now here they were, waiting to hear his answer. How could he possibly explain this to them??

“IT’S- UH- WELL IT’S... SANS…” They raised an eyebrow, a clearly confused look on their face.

“Sans? Like, the same as Sans- er- other Sans, I should say?” He nodded his head as the other group of skeletons shot bewildered looks at each other.

“Y-YES. YOU SEE… IT’S A REALLY LONG STORY- HEH- A _REALLY_ LONG STORY ACTUALLY-” The other skeletons felt their souls drop. Was Blue really about to blow their cover like this? Over a name?

“WELL YOU SEE, (F/N). AS YOU KNOW, ALL OF US ARE RELATED, AND- UM- WELL IT’S BECAUSE-”

“Because you’re step-siblings, right? Papyrus told me a little bit about it.” Blue’s eyes widened a bit, sending a small, pleadful look for help. Now was Papyrus’s chance!!

“YES. I TOLD (F/N) ABOUT OUR _SITUATION_ ABOUT US BEING STEP-SIBLINGS… SO IT’S OKAY TO TELL THEM ABOUT OUR FATHER’S POOR NAMING SKILLS.” Every gave Papyrus a shocked look at the quick cover-story he made. But… they were impressed, to say the least.

Picking up the cue, Blue jumped back in.

“YES! SINCE WE ALL HAD DIFFERENT MOTHERS- OUR FATHER DECIDED TO JUST NAME US ALL SANS AND PAPYRUS, SO HE WOULDN'T FORGET OUR NAMES.” (F/n) put a hand over their mouth in a look of disbelief.

“Am… Am I allowed to laugh?” Over-the-moon about them believing their story, they all nodded excitedly.

They bellowed a laugh as a little bit of snorting came out in their fit of giggles.

“He… He really named you all Sans and Pap-papyrus?” They snorted again, some small tears in the corner of their (e/c) eyes. “I-I’m sorry… It’s not funny…” Red leaned over and gave a nudge with a grin.

“nah, it’s pretty funny. we joke about it a lot.” They had that amused smile with that little sparkle in their eyes.

A yawn behind the group alerted them that Sans was there, along with Stretch (who already had a sucker in his mouth). The backdoor also opened as Willow and Oak walked in. 

Now the whole group was here.

“Good morning, Sanses and Papyruses.” They had this amused smile playing on their lips while the other four felt their souls drop to their non-existent stomachs for a hot second.

“WE TOLD (F/N) ABOUT OUR DAD’S TERRIBLE NAMING SKILLS!” Blue said, a look in his eyes saying, ‘play along.’

The group let out a relieved breath, Stretch’s knees wobbling slightly at the close call.

“heheh... told them about that, eh? yup. ol’ pops was never really the naming type.” Sans said. The group sat down, taking their time to eat their breakfast. But while (F/n) happily ate and joked around about random topics, the group of skeletons gave glances to each other every-so-often. 

They can’t keep this up. It’ll only be a matter of time before one little slip up will happen, and their elaborate story will come crumbling down.

Papyrus was especially torn up about it. (F/n) was one of his best friends. They let him and his family stay with them with little to ask in return- and here he was- sitting at _their_ table, eating _their_ food, and lying to _their_ face. 

He’s tried a few times to convince his brother about having them come clean about it all, but Sans had a dilemma. They all did. Tell them some crazy story about how they're not actually from the same universes as each other? How they randomly showed up one day without warning and without an idea how to get back to their real homes? 

Yeah. Sounds a lot crazier than some step-siblings- called cousins- with a father who has terrible naming skills.

The fake story was almost unbelievable, but the real story could be quite honestly crossing the lines. They’d either kick them out or just straight up take them to the ward for an evaluation. 

“Hey! I have the day off today, and the farmer’s market is in town! Did anyone want to join in checking it out?” Blue nodded excitedly, as did Willow.

“would love to, sparkles, but i got an interview ta’day.” Red said, leaning back smugly as his brother shot him an angry glare from across the table. 

“Oh, that’s great, Red! Where at?” (F/n) chimed. 

“eh. just some gas station near the outskirts of town. but a job’s a job.” The human gave an excited two-thumbs-up.

“Absolutely it is! Now you could tell us crazy stories about the people there!” Red chuckled.

“so, then, yer’ a regular then.”

“Mean.”

“WELL, I’LL ALSO HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE AN INTERVIEW AS WELL!” Now that caught everyone’s attention.

“oh?” Stretch inquired. Edge crossed his arms with a prideful huff.

“YES, I DO. AT THE ANIMAL SHELTER ON MAIN STREET.” Everyone made a ‘whatdidhesaaaay’ look to each other. 

An animal shelter??? Edge??? 

“YES. AND THEY EVEN MENTIONED THAT I MIGHT BE PUT UP TO MANAGEMENT IN NO-TIME-”

“-assuming you get the job, that is,” Stretch said. (F/n) pierced their lips as they held back a laugh, sending a look of ‘please God, Stretch.’

Edge’s face lit up with a red blush, his skull starting to steam a little with stray magic.

“JUST YOU WAIT. I WILL GET THAT JOB, AND I WILL SINGLE-HANDEDLY CARRY THIS TRAIN-WRECK OF A FAMILY INTO A STABLE INCOME.” He said, slamming his fist down, causing the silverware to jump in place. You could see the dead-look inside of (F/n)’s eyes as they watched their poor table get abused by Edge’s fist again.

“well, we hope you get it, buddy,” Sans said, taking some of the remaining pancakes and lazily pouring half the bottle of syrup on them.

“I DO NOT NEED YOUR PITIFUL HOPE. I WILL CERTAINLY GET THE JOB AND THE PROMOTION THE SECOND I WALK IN.” Willow rattled as he patted Edge’s back.

“You Sure Will, Edge! We’re Rootin’ For You!” This seemed to please Edge as he gave a proud smirk.

“Well, I’m ready to go if you guys are!” (F/n) said. Blue and Willow excitedly got up as they followed their housemate to their car, excitedly buzzing about the market.

...

As the rest of the bunch still sat and did their own things, Oak leaned back with a smirk.

“ **animal shelter, huh**.” He said. Edge sent a look to the overgrown Sans.

“YES. AND DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT IT?” Oak just gave a smug smile as he pulled out his notebook.

“ **not really. thought it sounded familiar, though. the one (f/n) volunteers at, right?** ” Edge’s face sharpened as he felt his face grow hot.

“AND WHAT ARE YOU INSINUATING? THAT I PURPOSEFULLY REMEMBERED THEIR BRIEF COMMENT ABOUT VOLUNTEERING THERE AT TIMES AND FORCED MY WAY IN TO GET AN INTERVIEW SO I COULD IMPRESS THE LOWLY HUMAN? A COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS IDEA YOU HOLD.” Oak only tucked away his notebook with a shrug.

Now Edge was furious!!! This bumbling behemoth thinks that HE- the tremendous and terrible Edge- went out of his way to impress someone as pitiful as a lowly human with pretty (e/c) eyes and a lovely (y/h) stature, who also happens to have a contagious smile?!?! He did not appreciate Oak’s insinuation. 

“QUITE AN ODD THING TO REMEMBER, CONSIDERING YOU HARDLY DO THAT AT ALL.” Now it was Oak’s turn to narrow his gaze. He let out a low growl before going outside with a slam to the back door.

The rest of them sent a look of disappointment to the sharp-tongued skeleton.

“that wasn’t very cool, bro,” Sans said, stuffing another bite in his mouth. Edge scoffed.

“OH, PLEASE. WHAT’S HE GOING TO DO? REMEMBER?” Papyrus sighed and rubbed his face.

“PLEASE REFRAIN FROM UPSETTING OAK, EDGE. YOU KNOW HE’S SENSITIVE ABOUT HIS MEMORY ISSUES.” Edge just stood up and gave another scoff before leaving the room to get ready for his interview.

Red stood up to get ready for the interview of his own, making a cue for everyone to disperse how they please.

...

“Wowie!! So Many Different Stands! Did Everyone Do All These Things Themselves?” Willow asked. He had to bend down quite far to reach for the honey on one of the fold-up tables. It was labeled “Busby’s Busy-bees Honey”.

“Sure is there, big guy! ‘Have a whole small business selling honey and wax candles from my beekeeping.” A nice older woman said. 

“Oh, Wow! I Didn’t Know You Could Keep Bees!!” He rattled excitedly as he inspected a few of the wax candles as well.

“Tell you what, big fella’! You can ‘ave that on the house.” Willow smiled excitedly.

“On The House? For Me?” His shrunken eyes widened a bit in excitement.

“‘Course. Nothin’ like nice folk being curious ‘bout beekeeping. Here- my card! If ya’ ever wanna get inta’ beekeeping, call me up!” He nodded excitedly.

“I Will! I Will!” You and Blue gave Willow some happy nudging and decided to grab a few bottles and candles while you were there.

“Is that all for Stretch?” You asked Blue. He groaned.

“YES… I TRY NOT TO ENABLE HIM, BUT I KNOW HE’D LIKE TO TRY SOME FROM A LOCAL PLACE. PLUS, HE’D POUT ALL DAY IF I DIDN’T GET HIM SOMETHING.”

Getting some fresh fruits and vegetables, along with whatever little things caught your guys’ eyes- you were all about to call it a day. That is, until Blue suddenly held out his arms in front of you and Willow, making you all stop in your tracts.

“What Is It, Blue?” Willow questioned. Blue stayed quiet until he saw something move in the corner of his eyes down the alley.

“THERE!” He said. You and Willow both looked over to where the smaller skeleton was pointing.

“The… butcher shop?” You questioned.

“QUICKLY!!” He said, running towards the alley, leaving you and Willow having to scramble after him. “THERE! DO YOU SEE IT?” You and Willow peer through a darkened ally. 

You all stand quiet, squinting to try to see whatever Blue saw. Then a quiet mewl made you all perk up.

“A kitten?” You questioned. You all fully come into the alley entrance. “Here baby… pspspsps.” You call out. Willow and Blue joined you on your catcalling. 

In a little ball of mucky and matted fur, a little baby came out with a scared expression; whatever hair wasn’t matted down by muck, it was all fluffed out to try and intimidate you three.

“Oh!! It Looks Scared And Sad!” Willow said.

He gently kneeled down as he dug into his burlap sack he got at one of the shops- pulling out a little bit of sandwich meat. He set it down a little bit in front of him, and you three tried to stay still as the little kitten hesitantly came closer to inspect the meat.

Upon the smell of it, the poor thing started trembling uncontrollably as it ate- no doubt in fear of the three strangers in front of it- but far too hungry to try to not eat.

“It’s Okay, Little Fella’... Here- Have More.” Willow continued to feed the poor little thing- the kitten starting to become a bit bolder- now making it's way to Willow after it was done munching. The little thing meowed louder than it’s little body was able to hold. The tiny, orange kitten’s whole body shook from the vociferous demand for more food. The three of you all had heart-eyes at the sudden, bold, little baby.

“WE HAVE TO TAKE IT HOME! THE LITTLE THING IS ALL SAD AND MATTED IN ICKY STUFF!” Blue said, little stars in his eyes, almost as if he was pleading with you. You didn’t have to be told twice!

“Of course we do!! The little baby can’t be out here by itself!” The three of you excitedly made the decision to bring the kitten home, Blue gently putting it in his bandana.

Racing home with a little bundle-in-blue, you all excitedly drive home to give the baby a new and happy home life!

Nearly kicking down the door in an animated state, you called out to the rest of your housemates.

“YOU GUYS, YOU’LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT WE JUST FOUND.” You call out, holding the little baby in one of your arms, the thing just clocked out after eating itself into a food-coma from Willow’s sandwich meat on the ride home.

Everyone shot up and curiously made their way over to the bundle in your arms as you, Willow, and Blue stood like proud parents at your little discovery.

“holy shit- is that supposed ta’ be a cat?” Red asked. You and your discovery-mates all gasped in an offended manner.

“Yes! And it’s our baby who needs help!” You declare. Red backs off as Sans and Papyrus come over to investigate it.

“OH NO! THE POOR THING LOOKS ALL MATTY AND SAD.” Papyrus says.

“how long has it been out there? looks a little skinny-” Sans started.

“ **we can fix that.** ” Oak chimed in, looking at the little ball of fluff. He gave a pitiful sigh and softly rubbed his phalange along where the ribs are. “ **i’ll get some milk for it.** ”

Stretch came over, giving the cat a small and gentle rub on its head.

“are we gonna keep it?” He asked. Blue huffed with determination.

“OF COURSE! (F/N) SAID THE MORE THE MERRIER.” Stretch had a small smile as the kitten woke up, a little dazed from its nap.

“got the sink filled up a little bit if ya’ wanna get the dirt off it,” Red said. 

You smile and get a washcloth to dampen the rag a little and gently rub it’s head so it can get used to the water. Willow came over, and you both washed the little kitten off of all it’s muck. Poor thing didn’t really like it- but it was for the best.

You wrapped the sopping-wet kitten into a small towel that Blue gave you, cradling it close as it mewled softly. Oak came up with a small plate of some goat’s milk but set it down beside you on the counter as he watched you play with the little kitten in your arms, the tiny claws reaching out to grab your finger. Was his soul beating faster than usual?

“WHAT IS ALL OF THIS COMMOTION.” Edge dramatically made his appearance through the door entrance, wearing a business casual from his interview. “I COULD SEE ALL OF YOU ALL GAGGLED UP IN THE WINDOW-” He stopped as he saw the little creature wrapped inside of a towel.

“oh no…” Red grumbled under his breath.

“WHAT-” He pointed at the kitten. “-IS THIS.” You looked up to him, holding out the kitten for him to see.

“It’s the kitten we found while we were walking around the farmer’s market today.” You answered. He continued to stare as the little bunch of happiness reached out a paw towards the tall skeleton.

He put his finger into the palm of the small cat’s paw-pad, watching as it wrapped its tiny little claws around his phalange. You and the rest just watched as Edge’s face dusted with a light pink, clearly infatuated with the kitten.

Just to top it all off, the little thing let out another one of the loud cries that made its whole body shake from such a robust way of talking.

“I SEE… IT IS VERY OBVIOUS TO ME THAT THIS LITTLE CAT IS FULL OF AN AUTHORITATIVE AND STRONG PASSION- WHICH CLEARLY DESERVES A NAME TO FIT IT’S POWERFUL PRESENCE.” He scooped the little kitten into his arms, holding the orange fur-bunch in front of him as he 'inspected' it.

“YES… MY MASTERFUL NAMING SKILLS HAVE BROUGHT ME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THIS FUTURE CREATURE OF DESTRUCTION SHALL BE NAMED- ARMAGEDDON.” You snort as Red facepalmed. 

“boss, ya’ can’t keep givin’ every cat names that you think fit to your taste.” Edge scoffed as he held the kitten closer to his chest.

“OH? AND YOU’RE GOING TO TELL ME THAT THIS IS NOT THE FACE OF A CAT WHO WILL BRING TERROR AND MAYHEM TO ANYONE WHO CROSSES IT? YOU CLEARLY NEED TO TAKE A BETTER LOOK FOR YOURSELF, BROTHER.” He held out the kitten again and brought it close to Red’s face for him to take a good gander at it.

Red looked at the furball in front of him, smiling at the cutey as it gave another loud meow.

“Ya’ know? I think it fits!” You chimed in. Edge stands tall with his chest puffed out, cradling the kitten.

“THEN IT IS OFFICIAL. THE KITTEN'S NAME SHALL BE ARMAGEDDON.” You giggled as everyone came closer to observe the little baby again, most everyone cooing in some form or another.

The rest of the night, you and everyone chatted, catching up on everyone’s days’ over dinner. Red and Edge both managed to snag the jobs! You felt proud of their accomplishment and decided to try and make an even-more-special dinner for the two of them, Willow helping you along with it. 

Everything went great! Boots and Gizmo happily welcomed the new member of the family, making you pretty sure that Edge might have some competition over who loves Armageddon more. 

...

Calling it a night, everyone went to their respective rooms, and you were about to happily get changed into your pj’s, but the sound of pawing at your window made you look over to find the odd stray cat at your window again. 

You didn't mind the cat's presence at all, but it was offputting to see him later at night. Usually, he'll just randomly come over to sunbathe on the porch and snag some cat-food you bought for him whenever he made his visits.

You open up the window, looking at the black and white cat.

“Goober? What are you doing here?” You questioned the cat. It only stared back at you, giving a slow blink and making its way down the roof.

You watched as the stray cat sat and stared up at you from the ground, almost as if waiting expectantly. You raise an eyebrow at the strange cat and decide to walk downstairs to greet him.

You sneakily tip-toed your way around the house, trying not to wake Oak on the couch nearby. Boots and Gizmo joined you in your curious state as you made sure to grab some cat treats you have lying by the door- just in case times like these happened, where the stray came to visit.

You quietly shut the door, walking up down the porch to squat down next to Goober.

“You wanted treats that badly that you came at night?” You questioned. To your surprise, the stray ignored your treat you held out to him. Instead, he quickly shot off towards the more outskirt area of the property.

You give Boots and Gizmo a confused look- them sending a questioning look of their own back.

The stray stopped after it ran a little bit, staring back at the three of you.

“Whacha’ doing, Goober? Did you want something?” The cat only stared into- what felt like- your soul. The cat looked back and forth between you and the area it was heading towards.

“Did… Did you want me to follow you, buddy?” You stuff your hands in your pocket as you start walking towards wherever the oddball was leading you, trying to look around for any clues as to where he was leading you.

You felt your heart drop suddenly as you came closer to where the cat suddenly stopped and sat.

“...holy shit…”

You weren’t one for cursing, but this was an exception.

Starting to run as fast as you could, you begged that wasn’t what you thought that was.

“Boots! Gizmo! Go get someone!! Go get help!” Sensing the tension in your voice as you gave your command, the two dogs whimpered in worry but took off towards the house, as you instructed. “Oh my God… Please be okay… Please be okay…” 

You quickly throw yourself down on your knees as you stare at the bloodied scene before you. You frantically look over to where Goober was before but see that the stray had pretty much vanished into thin air. 

You didn’t have time to ponder. You had to do something, and fast.

You throw off your jacket to keep your movements from being restricted as you leaned your head against the chest of one of the battered and bloodied skeleton- looking for any signs of a soul-beat or a pulse...

You let out a short sigh of relief at hearing a pulse from the smaller skeleton.

“Hey… Hey, are you okay? Are you awake?” You asked, praying for a response.

Receiving nothing- you let out a silent curse, your hands starting to tremble. His face was scarred and covered in dirt and blood. Some of it looked fresh… but the stains on the monster's clothing or other parts of it seemed dry. How long have they been out here?!

Scrambling to the other, taller skeleton, you tried to hold in a gag to see one of his eye sockets was still slightly open- but ultimately hollow. Sure… skeletons don't really have eyes… but this was just more… empty than what seemed normal for skeleton monsters.

You waste no time as you gently try to lay your head onto the monster’s chest, repeating the process of trying to find a soul-beat. Your heart dropped at hearing how faint and quiet it sounded.

This isn’t good… You’re not a doctor! Much less one who knows about treating skeletons, or most monsters in general. 

Oh, God… Please Boots and Gizmo... Please bring someone over to help and quick!

A little more worried about the second one with the lack of a strong soul-beat, you tried to prop up his head upon your jacket.

“Hey… Can you hear me? I’m right here. I’m going to get my friends, and we’ll take you and your friend to the hospital, okay?” There was no response.

Feeling your heart hammer against your chest- anxiety starting to overflow in your blood-stream- you tried to recheck both of them to see if there was any change to the monsters’ rhythm. 

The first one was still beating as before- but when you tried to press your ear against the tall one’s again- a heavy, yanking force grabbed you by the back of your shirt- sending you flying backward, scraping your knees and palms as you tried to keep yourself from rolling further.

You let out a choked cough from the wind being knocked out of you- looking up to see the smaller skeleton that you- just moments ago- checked upon.

His magic was flaring all around the clearing as a sharp-tipped bone was being held in his possession. He stood possessively over the other weak-stated skeleton- his eyes filled with murderous intent if even the smallest thing was done to his disliking. 

You were shaking like a leaf- but this wasn’t a time to let your panic consume you. They both needed medical attention- and quick. Where was everyone? You’ve never felt so angry and frustrated at yourself for not bringing your phone with you.

“H-hey… I’m not here to hurt you guys…” His eyes narrowed sharply, a low- almost growling- sound coming from him. “Your friend… He really needs medical treatment- you both do. I just want to help and-” Snarling, the monster sent out his single bone weapon, hurdling it towards your skull.

You would have tried to block it- but it was sent way too sudden for it to ever be sufficient. The mere force and speed of magic that it was hurled with wouldn't have even given you time to blink.

A sudden _crunch!_ Echoed throughout the area- allowing you to look more pointedly at the sharp-tipped weapon that was only mere inches from your face. 

You felt your body almost shut-down as the gears started to turn in your head- realizing just how close you were to meeting death itself.

You looked up to see Oak- a deep frown etched into his face as his singular red eye-light flared.

He clenched tighter onto the bone attack that he managed to catch- now snapping it completely in two with another _crunch!_ from his tight grip.

**_“you just fucked up, there, buddy.”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you don't mind me deciding to write some unhinged content with a little bit of cursing here in the future! Mostly because I will not apologize 🥵 I hope you guys like this chapter and sorry it took so long to update!! I really had to sit there for a hot-second to see if I wrote this the way I wanted jkfadslkfja  
> Remember not to get completely boned! ;)


	7. Please Be Honest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First impressions are crazy. So is the logic about almost anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for putting up with my nonsense story!! You guys are really sweet and I love everyone's comments and fan-art that they made for it 🥺 If you guys wanna see it- I'm on tumblr under completelyboned!
> 
> Also!! WARNING!! There's a lot of cursing in this chapter- also mentions of blood!

You make eye contact with the pissed Oak, and he looked less than pleased to see the situation at hand.

“ **(f/n). get out of here.** ” He rumbled out. He did not look like he was messing around.

No need to tell you twice! 

You scramble to your feet and take off into the nearby fir trees. You had to leave the scene- no doubt about it- but the other monster’s life was at stake if he didn’t see a doctor, and _now._

You manage to silently circle your way around the clearing as you can hear Oak and the other skeleton make unpleasant conversation- too focused on each other to notice you.

Waiting for a clear chance to see that the small monster wasn’t paying attention, you run out and grab the other one, throwing them over your shoulders in a fireman's carry. Thank God that skeletons are light.

Once Oak finally took notice, he watched as you grabbed the other skeleton, giving you a very subtle nod that he has your back as you get to the house with him.

You run as fast as you could, trying to keep the battered skeleton secure in your hold with his gangly limbs. 

“GUYS. HELP!” You call out, nearly booting down the door trying to get inside.

Different footsteps come running throughout the house and into the kitchen with you and the other skeleton.

“WHOA, WHO THE HELL IS THAT???” Red shouted. Numerous others also ring out in their own confusion.

“Go help Oak!! He’s out in the clearing with another one, and he needs help!” Everyone stopped their confused chatter, and Sans looked towards Red and Stretch.

“red. stretch. help me with oak.” 

“on it.” They both chime, blipping away with Sans to help Oak.

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH HIM?” Blue asked. 

“I don’t know! I found him and another skeleton out there like this! But his soul isn’t beating as loud as it should be.” Papyrus placed his hand on the other monster’s chest, a grimace on his face.

“BLUE, WILLOW, EDGE. STAY HERE IN CASE MORE COME. WE NEED TO GET HIM TO A HOSPITAL.” They nod as you and Papyrus grabbed the unconscious skeleton, hurriedly putting him in the backseat of your car- Papyrus sitting back there with him.

You wasted no time to start the car and burn out as you left the scene of the house, your heart-beat pounding so hard that you can feel it in your ears.

...

Panting as his soul pounded hard against his ribcage, Oak stood watching as (F/n) left the scene- managing to snag the other one that was, more than likely, another version of his brother.

“ **not exactly the way you should treat someone tryna’ help you, now is it?** ” His other counterpart snarled at him, not even realizing his missing kin.

Oak could feel how weak the other monster was. That attack he tried to pull with (F/n) was pretty much all he had left. Not to mention, those nasty wounds he has, has to have him struggling to even stand at this point.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!” The newcomer asked. Oak felt his anger rise again as he looked down towards the bone attack that he broke- grotesque images intruded his thoughts of what would have happened if he didn’t show up when he did.

“ **your worst nightmare.** ” 

He was close enough to the other skeleton to use a shortcut behind him- and when he got his hands on that little shit- he was done for. Another sans or not- he’ll be dusted the second Oak gets an opportunity. And there it was.

When the smaller skeleton tried to summon a bone attack, Oak blipped over and grabbed the skeleton by the back of his purple bandana, slinging him around to make him look Oak in the eye. He examined the sans up and down, taking in every detail he could.

“ **i didn’t appreciate your way of greeting my friend. so tell me... where are you from?** " The smaller skeleton kicked and thrashed in Oak's grip on him. " **you look like a sans, but act more like a papyrus-** ” With a swift kick to the side of Oak’s skull, he was forced to drop the other sans.

He held onto the area with the hole in his head- a migraine forming. That asshole kicked him there on purpose.

“ **now you did it, asshole. You’ll Be Dusted Where You Stand.** ” Sending out a vicious attack, the smaller version of himself was somehow able to dodge it, even in his weak state. He had an antagonizing smirk on his face.

“OH? DID I HIT A SORE SPOT FOR YOU, BIG GUY? I MUST SAY, YOUR ATTACKS AREN’T VERY STRONG. IS IT BECAUSE OF THAT GAPING HOLE YOU HAVE?” Oak’s eye-light was now glowing, his magic starting to wisp in anger. Oh, he hit a sore spot all right. And he'll regret it.

“ **I’LL KILL YOU!** ” He snarled, no longer bothering to try to keep calm. Mustering up as much strength as he could with his massive migraine- he used up almost all of his magic to blip back-and-forth, tossing and delivering blows to the small skeleton each time until the monster could no longer be able to stand.

He grabbed the skeleton by the back of the shirt, holding him up to take a good gander at him.

“ **i don’t give a flying f*ck if you’re another version of me or not. you can say goodbye-** ” Light blue magic glowed around the soul of the monster in his hand- ripping him away from Oak’s grasp and into the arms of Sans, whose eye sockets were now blackened.

“oak! are ya’ f*ckin’ crazy, man??” Red shouted, stomping up to the giant skeleton. Oak only growled, both in pain from Red’s shouting and the fact that he couldn’t go through with his plans.

“red, shouting at him won’t do any good,” Stretch said, coming up to place a hand on Red’s shoulder.

“he tried dustin’ the guy!-”

“- **he tried killing (f/n).** ” Oak cut in. Red snapped his mouth shut and looked over to the passed out clone, everyone else also taking a look of their own.

Sans took a deep breath and a sigh.

“listen. we’ll deal with everything later. for now- we have to take him back to the house so we can figure out what’s happening.” They all took silent glances at each other, and Oak trudged off towards the house.

“Brother! Are You Okay? What Happened?” Everyone filed inside, Stretch now carrying the unconscious skeleton.

“OH, MY STARS! HE’S WORSE THAN THE OTHER ONE! HE’S BLEEDING EVERYWHERE!” Edge, Blue, and Willow grab different supplies to help clean up the monster, Oak giving a quiet stare at the sans lying on the table.

“probably no help from this guy-” Red pointed a thumb towards Oak, “dude nearly dusted him.” Oak stayed silent, scratching at his head wound from the pain. Willow took notice immediately and rushed upstairs to grab some of Oak’s migraine medicine.

“Here, Brother. Why Don’t You Go Lay Down In My Room? I’ll Fill You In Later.” Oak nodded, appreciative of his brother. 

After Oak left the room, everyone went back to chattering about what to do.

“DO WE KNOW WHERE HE’S FROM, AT LEAST?” Everyone shook their heads.

“don’t know. knocked out when we got to him.” Stretch said, slightly trembling as he cracked his knuckles from the amount of stress that was going on around him. Willow gently placed his hand on the youngest’s to try to keep him from scratching at his already scarred fingers from all his nervous habits at digging at them.

“We Should Try To Bandage Him Up And Then Take Him To The ER.,” Willow said. Sans rubbed his skull, thinking hard as Blue and Edge took on the role to bandage the skeleton.

“oak said that they tried to hurt (f/n). i’m afraid of what will happen if he wakes up in an unknown place full of humans.” Everyone looked towards each other, also thinking of what would happen.

“DO YOU THINK HE APPEARED OUT OF THE UNDERGROUND LIKE US?” Blue asked. Sans hummed in thought.

“could be. he might have lashed out from being somewhere unknown. and with the papyrus already looking in bad shape, he might have been trying to defend him too.”

“do you think he may have come from another fell dimension?” Stretch asked. Red and Edge sent each other a look.

“POSSIBLY. THOUGH I DOUBT IT’S THE SAME AS OURS SINCE WE’RE ALREADY HERE.” Red nodded.

“DO YOU THINK THERE’S ANOTHER VERSION OF FELL?” Blue asked. Red shrugged.

“maybe. doubt it, though. if anything, he’s almost a spittin’ image of you, blue. and that papyrus kind of looked like stretch.” Blue hummed.

“MAYBE- BUT YOU GUYS WERE ALSO QUICK TO ATTACK EVERYONE WHEN YOU SHOWED UP.” Red chuckled.

“heh. yeah. good times.” Edge rolled his eyes.

“Maybe It’s A Mixture Of The Two.” Willow chimed in. Everyone pondered it.

“POSSIBLY. THOUGH WE SHOULD PROBABLY WAIT FOR THEM TO AWAKE AND MAKE SURE THEY’RE NOT HOSTILE BEFORE QUESTIONING THEM.” Edge said. Sans nodded.

“the last thing we want is another fight. especially with the two of them already injured.” Everyone agreed.

“if it’s true that they came straight from the underground like everyone else, they might be confused about how they got onto the surface. they might still have a thing against humans, too- if they are another version of fell, that is.” Stretch said.

“I SAY WE KEEP GUARD IN CASE MORE SHOW UP. AND KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THIS ONE UNTIL WE’RE ABLE TO CHAT.” Edge said.

“what ‘appened to the other guy anyway?” Red asked.

“(F/n) And Papyrus Went To The Hospital With The Other One.” Everyone looked unhappy about it, given that they don’t know if he might wake up and attack like his brother.

“i’ll also head there. if he wakes up, i’ll be able to explain it better to him. as for now, try to keep watch on the sans to make sure nothing happens.”

“WHAT ABOUT (F/N)? THERE’S NO WAY WE CAN SAY THAT THEY’RE JUST ANOTHER COUSIN OF OURS! AND WE ALL LOOK WAY TOO SIMILAR FOR IT TO BE JUST RANDOM SKELETONS WHO SHOWED UP OUT OF NOWHERE ON THEIR PROPERTY.” Blue asks. He had a point. They were already on such thin ice. Their next move would be the point of no return. Either it goes great or goes horribly, and they no longer have a place to stay. Or a friend.

Sans sighs heavily.

“we’ll... we’ll think of something.” He says. Everyone looks at each other, their fates utterly unknown at this point. “i’ll be back. just stay safe, okay?” They nod as they watch him blip away.

What are they supposed to do now?

...

The beeping of the machine echoed in the room that you and Paps sat in, looking at the tall and battered skeleton in the hospital bed.

They were fortunate they got there when they did. Ten more minutes, and he would have dusted for sure. Thank God you broke almost every law on the way here. Saved a life, at least.

…

“Papyrus…? Can I ask you something?” You were shaking slightly, both from the anxiety of the answer you might hear and from the leftover adrenaline from earlier. He looked to you, worry in his eyes.

“OF COURSE!” You smile at him, happy that he still tried to be cheery, although he looked like his world might be crumbling away. But, you can’t worry about that now. There’s something you have to know first before you tried to comfort him.

“Back at the house… when you said for the others to stay in case more came… What did you mean by that?” You asked. This wasn’t an optional question at this point. Seeing him squirm, you showed that you weren’t going to back down from it, making him sweat.

“I… I-” Papyrus did everything he could to avoid your serious gaze. He’s been busted.

“Papyrus. Please-” You grab his gloved hand and look him in the eyes. “I’m your friend, aren’t I? Please- just tell me. Is there someone after you guys? Did you come into my home- knowing that someone is after you? And why does this stranger look so much like Stretch?...A-And you, and Edge… and just- everyone?” Papyrus was now rattling as he shook.

He had to tell you. He can’t just look into your eyes that begged for the truth and give out another lie. You were right. You are his friend. And friends always stick together and don’t hold secrets.

“No… There’s No One After Us…” You held his gaze to see that he was sincere. He clasped his hands around yours as he continued to make eye contact- orange tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes from seeing that you still didn’t trust in what he was saying.

“(F/n)... I’m Sorry, But I Haven’t Been Telling You The Truth. The Thing About My Cousins Being Our Step-Siblings... I-It’s A Lie... I Made It Up. I’ve Been Lying To You The Entirety Of Our Stay At Your Home…” You stand up, cutting him off.

You felt betrayed- and hurt. You weren't sure if you wanted to hear it- or instead, ready to listen to it- knowing that your opinion of your best friend might just change forever.

“I think… I’m gonna take a walk…” You say, quickly making your way out of the room.

“WAIT! (F/N)-”

“hey, how’s it going here?” Sans asked, deciding to walk in as you made your way out. He looked back at your retreating form, confused at the lack of your usual care-free attitude.

“bro, what happened?”

…

“wait! (f/n)!” For once in Sans’s life, he was running to chase down the upset human.

His thoughts were absolutely racing as they turned around, a cold look on their face that sent a small shiver down his spine at just how apathetic they seemed.

“it’s... it’s not like you think-” He panted a little at his little chase. “it’s not bad. the situation- it’s not as bad as you may think-” They cut him off.

“Not bad? Papyrus told me that he’s been lying to me the entire time you guys were at my house! How can I not think it’s bad?? Red, Blue, Stretch, Willow… Everyone! All of you have been lying to me.” He flinched, knowing that they were right. He took a deep breath as he closed his eye sockets to think.

“i’ll... i’ll tell you everything, okay? (f/n)- i promise it’s nothing bad. it’s just… you might not believe us.” They take a deep breath of their own, calming down a little bit.

“Sans. I want you to promise me something.” His eye-lights locked with theirs. “Promise me that you’ll tell the truth this time. All of it... I love you. And I love Paps and everyone else- but I need you to keep this promise if you want me to trust you guys again.” He thought for a moment before holding out his pinky, hoping they would take it and trust him again.

“i never break a promise.” They stared at it for a moment before hesitantly taking it. They wrap their soft pinky against his hard, boney one, making him smile to see that they still cared for him and his dysfunctional family.

“Good. I’ll hold you on that.” They both stood there, feeling awkward in the quiet hallway. Sans' mind was racing about how they could possibly explain it all to them, and (F/n) no doubt having thoughts of their own.

“...are you hungry? we could get some food if you’d like.” They sighed, looking a little amused for a second.

“That’s okay. I think I’m just gonna stay with them a bit longer to make sure they're okay.” They said, referring to the skeleton in recovery. Sans nodded. 

“how ‘bout paps and i grab something from the food court for you, and then we can talk about everything.” They smile a little and nod, walking with him to the room.

Poor Paps was a wreck. When he told Sans what happened, he couldn’t stop crying- scared that (F/n) hated them. When Sans and (F/n) walked in to see him- both looked upset to see Paps so distraught.

Sans stayed quiet as he watched his friend go up to Papyrus, making him look up from his hands that his face was buried in. He could see the exact moment (F/n)’s green soul showed, as they held open their arms- silently asking if Papyrus wanted a hug.

Papyrus sniffled loudly as he wiped a stray tear before launching himself into their arms.

Sans gave a soft smile at the two from their tight embrace. Two peas in a pod.

“hey, paps. didya’ wanna come with me to the food court? i’m gonna grab us some food before we sit down and talk about everything.” Papyrus looked over to (F/n), slightly surprised and happy that they’re finally going to come clean to their friend.

“ARE WE REALLY?” He asked, hopeful. Sans nodded.

“it’s only fair.” Papyrus gave another tight squeeze to his friend before coming with him to the food court.

How are they even going to explain this?

…

“So… Let me try to get this straight… There are other ‘alternate universes’ that have different versions of yourselves- and probably others- that randomly decided to show up one day?” Sans and Papyrus nod, everyone munching on their snacks. “But how did they get here, then? And why here, of all of them?” Sans shrugged.

“i can’t say for sure- but i’ve been doing a lot of research about it. it’s all shaky, and there’s no real answer- from what i’ve gathered. i did keep an old book from my job from back in the underground. it's one of the past scientists who dabbled in it. turns out the guy had a bunch of notes about alternate universes. even named a few.” You nod your head, trying to take in the information. “everyone seems to have the same story, though. they’re all in the underground just doing their normal routines- things go black- then wake up on the surface in our dimension.” You sit there, just trying to process everything.

“So what do we do now? Do we know where these guys are from?” Sans sighs.

“i’m not entirely sure- i’d have to recheck the book- but- if I remember right- it looks like they might be from swapfell.” You give him a stare that says, ‘do I look like I know what that means.’ “-it’s basically like stretch and blue- but… with a little more of red and edge’s take on things.” You nod your head slowly, kind of getting the idea- but, also, not really.

“WE STILL DON’T GET A LOT OF IT EITHER. BUT DO YOU BELIEVE US?” Papyrus asks. He had a hopeful look on his face, but you really had to sit and think about it. It's just all so... crazy. You can feel a headache coming on. 

“I- uh… Well, I definitely need to sleep on it…” Papyrus's smile deflated a little, but he still wrapped an arm around your shoulders, clearly just worried about his friend.

“WE COULD HEAD BACK TO THE HOUSE AND SLEEP. WE CAN CHECK UP ON HIM IN THE MORNING.” You shake your head.

“No… That’s okay. I think I’ll stay here tonight. I just wanna make sure they’ll be alright. Plus, I just want to think for a moment.” Papyrus nods and smiles nervously, Sans doing the same.

“yeah. i’ll just shortcut me and paps home. just... stay safe and call us if anything happens.” You nod your head quietly, just thinking about everything.

They say their goodbyes, and you sit on the chair, looking at the battered skeleton in front of you. You felt terrible seeing all the bandages on him. You frown deeply, seeing the blood start to stain through the applications on one of his eyes. He lost his eye.

Sure, you don’t know him- but you felt very strongly about wanting to stay and keep an eye on him. It scared you at how close he was to dusting. The nurses and doctors would obviously take care of him- but if he wakes up, it might be reassuring to have someone who can tell you where you are, at least. And tell them that their brother is safe at the house.

You rested your head on your hand as you tried to nap a bit- knowing that sleeping on something usually helps with processing new information- like the one that was dumped entirely onto you- but have to snap your head up from hearing the rustling bedsheets in front of you.

Getting up, you quietly make your way to the bed, watching as the skeleton groggily opened his eye that wasn’t under the bandage. His vision snapped open more fully at seeing the figure in front of him, making him bolt up, although in an ungraceful manner since the drugs they gave him no doubt affected his mobility.

“Oh no- it’s okay! My name’s (F/n). You’re in the hospital right now. I found you and your brother by my house looking pretty beat up-so; we took you to get treated.” You could see that his mind was still foggy from the painkillers they had to give him- his head slightly teetering from side-to-side. No doubt that he might not even remember this conversation.

“Your brother is at my house with a few friends of mine. They’re making sure he’s getting taken care of-” You stop as he slowly started to lean towards you, his phalanges caressing your cheek. 

You would have jolted back if it wasn’t for the mere fact that you were just in absolute shock at what was happening.

 _Was he holding your face in his hand right now?_

Suddenly, he leaned in- gently brushing his teeth against your lips, making the butterflies in your stomach flutter.

Your face felt like it was burning as he pulled away- taking another look at you while he used his thumb to softly stroke your face as he continued to hold it, now resting his forehead against yours.

“pretty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I sneak in a kiss? Maybe. 😳 Do I know how kissing works, much less with a skeleton? No. 😳 BUT I'LL BE DARNED IF I DON'T WRITE IT-


	8. There's Always Positive in the Negative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yikes... How embarrassing and shameless... Good thing pills are a good excuse! For now...
> 
> Also!! Slight trigger-warning because there's blood mentioned! And very, very slight gore described.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tips:  
> (F/n)- First name  
> (L/n)- Last name  
> (s/t)- Skin tone  
> (h/c)- Hair color  
> (e/c)- Eye color  
> (y/h)- Your height
> 
> ~~~ In case you forgot some names for the boys!~~~  
> Undertale Sans- Sans  
> Undertale Papyrus- Papyrus/Paps  
> Underswap Sans- Blue  
> Underswap Papyrus- Stretch  
> Underfell Sans- Red  
> Underfell Papyrus- Edge  
> Horrortale Sans- Oak  
> Horrortale Papyrus- Willow  
> (Oak and Willow’s names are inspired by ratsoh-writes on tumblr!)  
> Come follow me on tumblr under completelyboned!

Staring into his eye, you quickly pull away, flustered beyond belief.

“I’ll… I’ll go let a nurse know that you’re awake…” You say, scuttling away as you take one last peek at his dopey and smug face. ‘ _ I’m so embarrassed right now! I can’t believe that just happened!!’ _

...

‘ _ i can’t believe i was able to snag a kiss like that, heh…’  _ He flopped down on the bed, chuckling to himself about anything, but also nothing in particular. ‘  _ now where did they say i was? a hospital?’  _ Putting his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling, he just giggled to himself. Dang. This is good stuff. He should snag some, without his brother knowing, of course…

“-Yeah, he’s awake now. He seems fine. Little out of it, though.” The person from earlier walked in, making him look over to them. Now, wait a second…

“who... did you say you were?” He slurred. They gave a quick goodbye to whoever was on the phone and made their way over to him again.

“(F/n). I found you and your brother near my house. The nurse said she’ll be over soon.” He nodded but squinted at the figure.

“i haven’t seen you around here before.” He pointed at them, trying to pinpoint what the heck they were.

“Oh… Well... that’s because you’re on the surface now. I’ll… I’ll try to explain it when you probably have a clearer head.” He waved it off before grabbing their soft cheek and giving it a little pinch.

“so if i’m on the surface like you said… then you must be a human, right?” They nodded, gently removing his hand from their face. “don’t let my brother catch you…” He slurred out again. “but don’t worry… i’ll keep ya’ safe…” He felt his head start to bob, his eye sockets feeling heavy.

“Why don’t you rest? You’re probably really tired…” He chuckled.

“will you kiss me awake?” He watched as they gave a flustered look, making him chuckle before promptly passing out.

‘ _ cute.  _ ’

...

“hey. he woke up, huh?” Sans walked in, making the human spin around, face looking completely embarrassed. “you okay?” He asked, raising a bone-brow to his friend.

“YES!!” They cleared their throat and tried to compose themself. “Yes. I’m fine. He went back to sleep, though. The nurse said he’ll be fine, but he should probably stay a few nights until they make sure he’s in stable condition.” They avoided eye contact with him, making him ansty.

“he didn’t do anything to you, did he?” They pierced their lips, the flustered look on their face returning. 

“No! Well… Nothing bad! H-he just…” They twiddled their fingers- looking for the right word. “He just kind of…Well- he must’ve mistaken me for someone else and accidentally gave me a kiss-”

“-HE WHAT??” Blue said, flying around the corner. He made the human and Sans jump in place. “HE CAN’T DO THAT! KISSING SHOULD BE FOR THOSE WHO ARE WANTING TO BE DATEMATES!!” His face was determined, and he looked visibly upset. He wouldn’t admit it, but he had a twinge of disappointment in his soul.

Sans placed a hand on Blue’s shoulder, trying to calm the passionate version of himself.

“try to quiet down, blue. you don't want to wake him.” Looking over, everyone shared the same thought of ‘he’s definitely not waking up anytime soon’ as the skeleton looked absolutely slumped.

“I KNOW… IT’S JUST THAT… WHAT IF (F/N) DIDN’T LIKE IT?” He looked towards the (y/h) human, giving them the cue that he wanted their opinion.

“It’s fine, Blue! I’m sure he didn’t mean it. I mean, it was really fast- so I don’t really know if it even counts- he’s just really out of it from the medication.” Blue was still upset but huffed.

“STILL NOT GENTLEMANLY.” They gave an amused smile and nudged Blue’s side.

“Maybe you can give him tips when he wakes up.” Blue’s eyes starred.

“OH, THAT’S A GOOD IDEA! MAYBE WE COULD TEACH THEM BOTH MANNERS!” 

(F/n) gave a yawn, the dark circles under their eyes made it clear just how exhausted they are by today’s events.

“why don’t you head home, (f/n). blue and i can stay to watch over him tonight. i’m pretty sure we won't sleep tonight anyway.” Sans said. Blue nodded.

“YEAH. YOU HAD AN EVENTFUL NIGHT. WE’LL STAY HERE WITH HIM.” They sighed with conflicted emotions but finally caved in and gave a tiny, relieved smile.

“Yeah… Maybe that won’t be so bad right now.” Sans and Blue smiled and nodded.

“did ya’ want me to shortcut you over?” They waved them off.

“Nah. I still have my car here, so I’ll just drive.” 

“MAKE SURE YOU’RE CAREFUL, THOUGH, ALRIGHT? IF YOU’RE TOO TIRED, MAKE SURE YOU PULL OVER AND GIVE US A CALL.” They smiled and gave Blue a weary hug- giving him the chance to pull Sans over and join them in a group hug.

“I’ll be safe. And make sure you both also take that advice.” They nodded and waved their friend a goodbye.

The two sat down on the uncomfortable chairs, just glossing over the white room.

“SO YOU REALLY TOLD THEM THE TRUTH?” Blue said. Sans sighed and nodded.

“yup. they were going to originally stay here so they could think about it- but i think the sound of a bed sounded too good to pass up.” Blue stayed quiet as he looked at his brother’s look-alike.

“... DO YOU THINK THEY BELIEVE US?” Sans shrugged, his soul feeling a little saddened.

“not sure. i’m honestly expecting to be kicked out by next week-”

“(F/N) WOULDN’T DO THAT! … WOULD THEY?” Sans just sighed and rubbed his head.

“i’m... i’m honestly not sure…” He slumped back in the chair, now looking at the tiled ceiling. They both stayed quiet- anxiety gnawing away at them.

Only time will tell.

…

Shutting the door quietly behind you, you kicked off your shoes and bent down to give kisses on the top of Gizmo’s and Boot’s heads as they came over to greet you. They were whining, probably shaken up at the tense atmosphere around the house.

“Hey, babes… Don’t worry. I’m home. Why don’t we sleep, yeah? Just the three of us.” You pass the living room, stopping to see Edge standing above the smaller skeleton from earlier as he was passed out on the couch. “Edge?” He quickly glanced over before continuing his hawk-like stare on the other.

“HOME ALREADY?” He questioned. You nodded.

“Yeah… Is he okay?” You asked, genuinely concerned. Sure, he tried to kill you, but if everything Sans and Papyrus said was true- then you can kind of understand his side of the story. Not to even mention the fact that they looked like they were attacked just before then, anyway.

“YES. HIM AND OAK GOT INTO IT, SO HE WORE HIS MAGIC DOWN QUITE A LOT. HE’LL BE OUT FOR A LONG WHILE.” You nod and meekly lean against the archway for the living room.

“Is Oak okay? I wanted to thank him before I go to bed- if he’s still awake, that is.” Edge folded his arms in thought.

“I’M NOT SURE. HIS MIGRAINE MADE HIM RETIRE TO WILLOW’S ROOM FOR THE TIME BEING.” You thank Edge and climb the stairs to the guest bedroom that Willow occupied.

Knocking quietly, the door softly creaked open to Willow answering it.

“Oh! (F/n)! Are You Feeling Well? Oak Told Me What Happened.” Willow’s face was full of concern.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just got a little scratched up, is all. I actually wanted to thank Oak- if he’s feeling up to it, that is.” Willow nodded excitedly.

“Oh, Yes! His Head Is Feeling A Little Better. I Think He Also Wanted To Check Up On You, Too.” You followed him inside the cozy room filled with race cars and other knick-knacks, seeing Armageddon purring as she lay on top of Willows plushies. 

Oak got up from the bed and walked over to you.

“ ** are you okay? ** ” He asked, looking worried. You smiled.

“Yeah, I am. All thanks to you.” You told him. His mouth turned to a small, tender smile. “I really can’t thank you enough, Oak. You saved me back there.” He had a light blush as he nervously rubbed the back of his skull.

“ ** ‘t’s no problem. ** ” You leaned into him and gave him a hug with a grateful squeeze to it. He froze up at first before melting into it, wrapping his arms around you and resting his head on top of yours. He gave a low rumble as he did, making it seem like he was purring. You didn’t mind a bit as you leaned into his chest more, the sound almost lulling you to sleep.

You both stayed like that for a while, pretty sure you almost fell asleep while you did so. When you both pulled back, Willow came over and gave you both a good hug of his own.

“I’m going to head to bed. Thank you again, Oak. I really owe you one. And thanks for worrying about me, Willow.” He rattled, giving you a goodnight wave as you left the room.

Flopping down in bed, you rubbed your temples as Gizmo and Boots made their spots on the bed with you. Maybe you should ask for some of Oak’s migraine pills.

You turn over on your side and hold a pillow close to you, thinking about everything today. This was too much to process. It gave you massive anxiety just thinking about it all. The two strangers... the information you heard about alternate universes... the random  _ kiss  _ you got... Touching your lips, you felt butterflies flutter in your stomach at the memory. Not exactly how you thought your first kiss was going to go- but here you are.

You told Sans and Blue that he must have mistaken you for someone else- and maybe he did- but you weren’t so sure. By God, do you hope that fool doesn’t remember.

You just sighed and looked at the ceiling as if it would give you a checklist of what to do.

…What are you going to do about everything? 

On the one hand, everyone has been lying to you the entire time they were here- Papyrus and Sans for weeks even before that. Then there’s the fact that they’re all supposedly from different universes and that they’re all just other versions of themselves... That one boggled your mind. And now, there are two new ones, so you’re going to have to figure that one out eventually. 

Groaning at just everything, you felt the feelings of betrayal slowly return to you. I mean… It makes sense why they didn’t want to tell you- heck- you’re not sure if you would’ve felt better if they just said that the newcomers happened to be third-cousins-twice-removed, who happened to come for a visit and got attacked by wild coyotes... But it stung a little that Papyrus admitted to being the one to make up most of the cover story to you.

Taking a long and deep breath, you remember the breathing exercises your therapist taught you. Breath in four seconds… Hold for seven… Breathe out for eight… 

You repeated it for a little bit, then stared at your ceiling covered in glow stars. 

Okay… Now let’s think positively.

On the other hand… Papyrus was your first friend you made when you moved to Ebott City. He was the one who kindly introduced you to most people in town and even invited you over to eat at their place. He also spent a lot of time with you as you became friends and was always a shoulder to lean on.

Sans was always friendly to you as you were over quite often with Paps, and he always knew how to tell the best jokes and do the best pranks. He still managed to help get you and Papyrus out of petty trouble from your shenanigans. Not to mention… He was the one who wanted to make sure you felt comfortable hosting them in the first place. He also held onto his promise to tell you the truth.

Everyone else was also good in their own ways… Willow and Blue were some of the most helpful and kind of the bunch. They always assisted you as you cooked or cleaned and knew how to make you smile. Edge was always keeping an eye out for you, and he even saved you from breaking your neck when you almost fell down the stairs. Red apologized to you and even tried to make up for being a jerk by helping you make breakfast earlier that morning. Stretch always made you laugh, and you really appreciated how he treated Boots like a princess. And Oak… What can’t you say about him? He literally just saved your life. And the way he’s always helping you each morning with the animals, how he treats them so kindly…

You sigh, now starting to smile a little. 

So maybe the positives did outweigh the negatives. Yes- you’re still upset that they didn’t tell the truth, but sitting back and actually reflecting on it, if what they say is true, then it’s hard to blame them for it.

‘ _ Okay… Let’s just go to bed and get some sleep. We’ll figure out what to do in the morning.  _ ’

…

As Oak slept in a sleeping bag on the floor, next to his brother, he was tossing and turning, sweat starting to form on his forehead. 

He just couldn’t move fast __ enough, just not strong __ enough. He was  _ weak.  _ His magic was nothing compared to the others- nothing compared to how it used to be. Because of it, he couldn’t reach them in time. 

Now here he was, the all too familiar metallic smell of blood filled the air as he stared at his friend with a bone lodged between their (e/c) eyes. They looked emotionless- dead, while the asshole who did it only had that damn, antagonizing smirk. 

_ He hated that smirk. _

What he hated more was that it was all his fault. If he was stronger... If his magic was more powerful... he could have stopped it. He could have shortcutted as far as he used to; he could have sent a powerful bone attack of his own to counter it...

His eye sockets shot open, tearing him away from his unconscious thoughts- his eye-light looking straight up at the ceiling. He was sweating profusely as his head started to pound again. 

He begrudgingly sat up, holding his aching head to look over to see his brother was still sleeping peacefully- making him sigh in slight relief.

He was trembling a bit. He didn’t like that the bastard was sleeping on  _ his _ spot on the couch. And he was below thrilled that he was in the same house as any of them- much less with the same person he nearly  _ killed _ .

He looked over at his brother one last time before silently leaving the room after taking some more of his medicine.

He knew it was selfish to try to wake (F/n) so late in the night, but he just had to make sure that they were still alright- and far away from the purple jerk. His mind kept flashing to his grotesque dream, only fueling his anxious desire to check up on them.

He climbed the stairs that lead to the other part of the attic, softly knocking on the oak door.

Maybe this was a lousy idea…

He was going to walk away, but footsteps alerted him that they were coming to the door. It creaked open softly, showing a dazed and tired (F/n).

“Oak? What’s going on? It’s almost 3am…” They rubbed their eyes before making contact with his own.

Oak wanted to respond- he really did- but he didn’t exactly write down what he wanted to say. He  _ knew  _ what he wanted- just not how to word it. They eyed him, looking concerned.

“Are you okay? Did something happen?” He could feel their eyes travel over his body, almost as if trying to get a read on him. He rubbed the back of his neck, now feeling guilty and slightly stupid for his reason for waking them now.

“ ** i just wanted to make sure you were still alright. i don’t like that  _ he’s _ still here. ** ” He said. His head was just absolutely throbbing. Coming up with that sentence was more challenging than he thought. They gave a tiny, tender smile at him.

“Thanks, Oak. I promise I’m still okay. I have Boots and Gizmo to keep guard for me. But, are you okay? You don’t look so hot…” He groaned, not really wanting to talk again. It hurt to even think. They looked him over again. “Is it your head again?” He nodded.

“ ** the bastard kicked it… ** ” He answered, a heated stir in his soul as he thought about it- making him start to pick at his head wound again. 

He could feel a creeping feeling of (F/n)’s soul reach his own. Sometimes, when humans have a powerful emotion, their soul can admit some energy that monsters can feel- and from the look on their face- it was anger. He felt a little... alarmed, in a sense. He knows it wasn’t directed at him, but man was it a change of personality. Not to mention, humans still have the capability of dusting monsters, if truly desired. He doubted that they ever would, but the ability is still there.

“He  _ what  _ ?” They asked. He could feel their soul energy very clearly now. 

“ **...’t’s okay. i got him back. i may have also gone a little… overboard. ** ” They took a long, deep breath- their brow furrowed- but eventually, he saw their face relax again after letting out a long sigh. Their usual warm and inviting look finally came back to them.

They open the door wider for him, making him slightly confused.

“If you want, you can stay in here. My mom used to have a lot of migraines, so I learned how to give massages that can help ease it a little… If you want, that is.” Boy, did that sound nice right now. “I’m not sure if it'd be the same since you don’t exactly have muscles or skin… but it’s worth a shot.” He nodded, willing to try anything to ease it at this point… plus… an excuse to snuggle with someone was always something he looked for. He was just touch-starved, as his therapist says.

He sat at the end of their bed, between Boots and Gizmo, as (F/n) scrambled off to grab something from downstairs, allowing him to take a look around the room.

First of all, it was hardly considered a room at this point. It was a straight-up greenhouse. Succulents and bamboo surrounded the windows and took space on their dresser and desk. Hanging plants were in full bloom, creeping pothos climbed their way over the curtain rods... Though… the earthy smell from it made him feel relaxed. And all their plushies reminded him of his brother. 

It was… cozy here. Felt like he was being welcomed home.

The sound of (F/n) coming back up the stairs made him turn his attention back to them instead of the room.

“Here. It’s peppermint oil I made from the garden. If you massage it in a few places, it helps reduce the migraine a bit. You okay with that?” He nodded, curious of how exactly this works. They put a little bit on their fingers, explaining where they were going to put it. “I’ll massage a little onto your temples and the back of your neck…” They stood in front of him as he sat, softly rubbing in the oil on his temples.

God, did it feel good to have someone massage his skull like this. He started to feel his head start to get heavier as he tried not to doze off right there from the soothing touch.

Well, he sucked at hiding how tired he was and how good it felt because now his whole body was rumbling with contentment, now leaning forward to rest his head on their chest. He could feel the quiet laughter from them in their sternum.

“Did you want to sleep? You could stay with me tonight while I finish with this.” He looked up wearily.

“ ** are you sure? i won’t be invading your space? ** ” They waved him off.

“Homies can cuddle homies. Plus, I really owe you… for multiple things, really.” He gave a grateful smile, but he'd be a big fat liar if he didn’t admit that his soul was starting to beat a thousand miles an hour.

Homies or more, he wanted their affection. And he really wanted that latter part...

They both crawled into bed, the bed sheets smelling of fresh linen, making him sigh happily from how soft and welcoming the bed was.

“Here- why don’t you rest your head on my chest so I can continue.” He wasted no time to snuggle into them, happily engulfing them in his hold. He could feel (F/n) give him a tight squeeze of their own, nuzzling the top of his head, carefully avoiding his head wound.

They continued to softly massage his temples, making him purr loudly with no shame. They moved onto the back of his neck, making him giggle a little since he was a bit ticklish there, and he could hear them quietly giggle back.

Eventually- he really has no idea when- but he fell asleep with them, content and happy as his medicine started to kick in, making his headache reduce by tenfold. Even though they were done using the peppermint oil, they continued to gently stroke his skull, lulling him into a comfortable and content slumber.

“Goodnight, Oak.” They softly whispered. Although the large skeleton was already dozing- a smile still made its way onto his face.

He definitely will, now that he has them in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a very strong believer that homies are able to cuddle homies 😤🤚 Platonic love is just as important as romantic love and that's a FACT! 😤😤😤  
> Thanks for reading again and I continue to love all of your comments 🥺 Even if they're completely outta pocket ASDKFJADSKFJ 🤸♀️🤸♀️🤸♀️ Remember not to get completely boned ;)


	9. Do You See The Stars, Sansy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally some names to faces, and recognizing lost souls.
> 
> ⚠WARNING!⚠  
> There's some moments covering the topic of drug addiction! Please be advised if you're sensitive to the topic!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tips:  
> (F/n)- First name  
> (L/n)- Last name  
> (s/t)- Skin tone  
> (h/c)- Hair color  
> (e/c)- Eye color  
> (y/h)- Your height
> 
> ~~~ In case you forgot some names for the boys!~~~  
> Undertale Sans- Sans  
> Undertale Papyrus- Papyrus/Paps  
> Underswap Sans- Blue  
> Underswap Papyrus- Stretch  
> Underfell Sans- Red  
> Underfell Papyrus- Edge  
> Horrortale Sans- Oak  
> Horrortale Papyrus- Willow  
> Swapfell Sans- Mal  
> Swapfell Papyrus- Cash  
> (A few of the names are inspired by ratsoh-writes on tumblr!)

The room was frigid when you woke up; the absence of Oak and your dogs made you shoot up and grab for your phone. 

**_ 11:46?!?!? _ **

‘ _ Oh no!! The animals are going to be so mad at me! And I still have to make breakfast- which will probably be lunch at this point!-’  _

In a flurry, you quickly change into your clothes for the day- the classic jumping with one foot as you put on pants and trying to multitask as you brush your teeth, making some of the toothpaste splash back into your eye.

Flying down the stairs- your hair still a little bit on the wild side- you’re met with everyone sitting at the table- with the exception of Sans and Blue. 

The newcomer was awake, and you could see some band-aids across the scar on his eye. By the looks of it, he was extremely pissed- considering he was tied up with a hose, forced to sit next to Oak. On the other hand, Oak seemed to relish it as he kept his gaze on him with a threatening smile always present on his face.

“Oh, (F/n)! You’re Awake!” Willow chirped as he took notice of you. Everyone’s eyes now turned to meet yours.

“Oh… uh- yeah. I woke up late, so I still have to take care of the animals-”

“ ** don’t worry about it. i took care of it. along with some  _ other _ things. ** ” Oak replied, giving an ever-so-ominous smile to the smaller skeleton that was tied up with the hose. The skeleton in question snarled.

“GET BACK AWAY FROM ME, YOU LUNATIC.” This only made Oak chuckle and lean back in his chair.

“AND DON’T WORRY ABOUT BREAKFAST! WE LEFT YOU SOME IN THE FRIDGE! I MADE THAT CREPE RECIPE YOU SHOWED ME! YOU SAID YOU REALLY LIKE IT SO…” Papyrus seemed nervous as he spoke, and you assumed it was because he was still guilty.

“Thanks, Paps.” You say with a tender smile. At least he’s trying to make it up. “And thank you, Oak.” He nodded, and you can see as he purposefully kept putting his hand in the other monster’s ‘space’ that he claimed.

“I SAID- KEEP YOUR GIANT, OVERSIZED HANDS OUT OF MY AREA. YOU SEE WHERE THAT FORK IS? DON’T GO PAST THAT!” The sans was fuming in place, jumping around in his seat- only the hose keeping him from actually doing anything about it.

“ ** oh, this fork? sorry. ** ” He used his finger and pushed the fork closer to the sans, making his counterpart snarl as stray wisps of angry magic surrounded him.

“GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU BIG BEHEMOTH-” 

“Oak- quit messing with him. He’s still trying to figure things out.” You say, lightly scolding him. Though, you thought it was pretty funny as you held in a laugh the entirety of the exchange. You sit on the other side of the angry skeleton- trying to give a friendly smile.

“Are you feeling any better? You were both pretty hurt when we found you.” You ask. He only scoffed.

“OH YES. LET ME TELL A  _ HUMAN  _ ABOUT MY CONDITION. WELL- SINCE YOU NEED TO KNOW- I’M STILL CAPABLE OF ANNIHILATING YOU-” His chair came tumbling down as he fell backward onto the floor.

“oops- my hand slipped,” Red said, a cheeky smile on his face. You were going to try to say something, but memories of last night made you keep your mouth shut as you continued to eat your brunch. He could use to get roughed up a little. Besides, the boys won’t go too far where you’ll have to step in.

“YOU BUNCH OF BLUNDERING IDIOTS! I SHOULD TEAR YOU ALL TO SHREDS-” Edge stood up and towered over the skeleton who was kicking angrily, trying to escape the chair he was tied up to.

“I HATE TO BREAK IT TO YOU- BUT WE ARE ON THE  _ SURFACE  _ NOW. AND ACTING HATEFULLY TOWARDS HUMANS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. YOU AND YOUR BROTHER  _ WILL  _ BEHAVE. OR ELSE, I WILL HAVE NO OTHER OPTION BUT TO USE FORCE TO BEAT IN SOME MANNERS. DO YOU GOT THAT?” Edge scowled at the sans, making the skeleton scowl right back. 

Edge propped the skeleton back up to the table, all while the sans grumbled.

“...So… What’s your name?” You ask.

“i wouldn’t bother. we tried all morning to give him a name, and he refuses to be called anything but ‘the maleficent sans.’” Stretch said. ‘The Maleficent Sans’ refused eye contact with you, probably too deep into his own thoughts as his face scowled. You hum, noticing his untouched food in front of him- crepes- no doubt cold from this morning.

“...What about Mal? It could like the shorter version of maleficent? It also means ‘bad’ in French- if that’s the vibe you’re going for.” The skeleton’s eyes seemed to sparkle for a second, thinking about the name.

“YES… MAL… IT’S PERFECT!” He declared. He finally took the time to look at you. “IT SEEMS YOU’RE NOT AS UNINTELLIGENT AS I FIRST PRESUMED, HUMAN.”

“Gee… Thanks…” You reply.

“YOU’RE VERY WELCOME, HUMAN. IT IS A GREAT HONOR TO GAIN SUCH A COMPLIMENT FROM ME, THE GREAT MAL.” He let out a ‘MWAH HA HA,’ making Red groan and pinch his nasal bridge.

“great... another blue…” He groaned. 

“I think Sans mentioned last night that he thinks he’s from swapfell… whatever that means… But I think it’s a mixture from wherever you guys and Stretch and Blue are from.” You say, starting to remember everything told to you. My God was it still confusing. 

You frowned and kept eating in silence while everyone seemed to act a little nervous at the quick comment you made while explaining.

“SO THESE IDIOTS TOLD YOU THE SAME STUPID STORY I PRESUME? IF YOU ASK ME, IT’S THE MOST IDIOTIC THING I’VE EVER HEARD. AND IT DOESN’T EXPLAIN ANYTHING.” You make eye contact with Mal again. Well… You guess you had something in common, it seems. Maybe not to the same extent, but you get it.

“I mean… yeah. It doesn’t really make sense. I had my doubts, but you and your brother kind of proved it… I only found out last night, so…” Mal raised a bonebrow at that. “I have a few theories as to what happened, but it’s nothing foolproof.”

“ONLY LAST NIGHT? WELL, EVERYONE SURE SEEMS COMFORTABLE LIVING HERE FOR ONLY A DAY.” The room got awfully tense.

“They’ve lived here for almost a week now. But I’ve known Paps- over there- and his brother for about two years.” He was now fully invested.

“OH? SO ALL OF THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON AND YOU JUST NOW HEARD ABOUT IT? HM. I LOVE THE HONESTY YOU ALL SHARE.” He said, a wicked smirk on his face. You just sigh and stand up to clean off your plate- the whole room dead silent as you leave to take a walk.

You leave the house with Boots and Gizmo at your sides, deciding to take a long walk around the property and to wander around the more wooded area on the outskirts. Some fresh air will do nicely to gather your thoughts better. 

…

As the door clicked behind the human’s retreating form, Mal just gave a crap-eating-grin.

“OH, YOU’RE ALL ON THE HOT SEAT NOW.” He laughed as everyone looked away shamefully in their own ways.

“ya’ know, asshole, if we get kicked out, then so do you,” Red grumbled.

“NOT MY PROBLEM. ONCE I GET OUT OF THIS  _ STUPID  _ HOSE THIS APE TIED ME IN,” Mal shot an angry glare at Oak. “-I’LL GET MY DEAD-BEAT BROTHER, AND WE’RE OUT OF HERE.” 

“and where will you go?” Stretch asked. “you’re both on the surface now. in another dimension, on top of that.” This made Mal snap his jaw shut as he sent a glare at the youngest.

“WE’LL FIND A WAY. WE ALWAYS DO.” This let Red let out a loud cackle.

“wow, you definitely got some fell in ya’. doesn’t that sound familiar, there, bro?” Edge rolled his eyes. Willow gave his focus onto Mal.

“Red And Edge Come From A Fell Universe! They Had The Same Reaction As You From When They First Came.” He said—Mal dead-panned at him.

“DO I LOOK LIKE I KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, BEANPOLE?” Oak tugged onto the hose tighter, making the small skeleton choke for a second.

“WHEN BLUE AND MY BROTHER GET HOME- WE’LL HOPEFULLY SORT THIS ALL OUT! THEY SAID THEY’RE BRINGING HOME YOUR BROTHER TOO, MAL.” Mal scoffed. 

“HA! MY BROTHER HAS PROBABLY ALREADY ESCAPED THAT HOSPITAL. HE’S A DEAD-BEAT, BUT HE KNOWS HIS WAY AROUND THINGS.” Like an excellent comedic effect, the door opened to Sans and Blue coming in, trying to help the tall and stumbling skeleton in their arms.

“heya’ bro… you in a  _ bundle _ , i see?” The lanky skeleton slurred out a little. Mal sucked through his teeth and hissed in anger.

“they said he healed a lot faster than they anticipated, so they sent him home with us. he’s on some painkillers for his eye and his tooth.” Sans said. 

“now i got two gold teeth, see bro?” 

“i see the other guy’s awake,” Sans said as he helped the tall monster sit down on the chair with his new clothes on.

“yeah. decided to be a riot all mornin’ before upsettin’ (f/n) and making them leave.” Red grumbled.

“ ** i got to tie him up, ** ” Oak said with a smile, shooting another look at Mal, who held onto a glare. Sans sighed.

“DO YOU KNOW WHERE THEY TOOK OFF TO?” Blue asked.

“PROBABLY TO GET AWAY FROM YOU LOT OF LIARS-” Another sharp tug at the hose made him choke again before angrily snarling at Oak. “WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT?” The two continued to bicker back and forth as Sans and Blue frowned.

Everyone collectively decided to drown out the other two and, instead, focused on Sans and Blue.

“SHOULD WE GO GET THEM?” Blue asked. Papyrus sighed.

“WE SHOULD PROBABLY LEAVE THEM BE FOR A BIT…” He said. Sans nodded.

“yeah... we don’t want to make them more upset than they probably are…” Blue and Sans took their own seats at the table.

“Should We Uh… Should We Look For Another Apartment To Stay At For The Time Being?” Willow asked. Everyone seemed shocked, but it quickly turned into disappointment at the realization of their situation.

“uh... yeah… yeah, we probably should.” Red stormed off somewhere as everyone either pulled out phones to look or just rested their heads on their hands in sorrow.

“BUNCHA’ BABIES,” Mal commented, receiving another harsh tug on the hose. “ACK- YOU NEANDERTHAL, I SAID STOP-”

…

Looking at the time, you got up and dusted off your pants. Well, it was a good and relaxing two hours. You looked up a bunch of articles of forgiveness and healthy boundaries, and of course, did some more research of the situation at hand- all while the dogs happily explored the areas and barked up some trees with squirrels in them. 

You needed that time to yourself. Now, to maturely approach the situation and do what would be best for your own mental and emotional health.

“Come on, babes!” You whistled. The two excitedly shot over as they joined you on your walk back to your home.

“Hey, I’m home.” You say, hanging up your jacket and kicking off your shoes.

“FINALLY- SOMEONE WITH COMMON SENSE IS HERE.” You heard Mal groan. You look into the living room to see that Mal was now released from being tied up in a chair to just being tied up.

He and his brother were both on the couch, while everyone else seemed to be sitting or standing in their own positions in the room.

“oh hey, it’s you again.” The tall skeleton said. You groaned internally. ‘ _ Please tell me he doesn’t remember…  _ ’ Seeming as to how it looked like it was an intervention, you sit between the two new skeletons who made space for you. ‘  _ Shouldn’t I be giving the intervention?  _ ’

“You’re awake now. Are you feeling better?” You ask the skeleton with two sparkling, golden teeth. He grinned.

“yeah. doctors say it’s a miracle. i think your kiss is what saved me.” He said, leaning closer with a teasing smirk. You could tell he was still loopy by the slight slur of his words. You were embarrassed but let out a monotone ‘ew’ and shoved him back, carefully avoiding the right side of his face with his bandages.

“YOU WHAT?!?!” Mal screeched. A few others were giving you both wide eyes or just plain angry glares sent towards the skeleton jacked up on painkillers. “SO WHILE I WAS OVER HERE HAVING TO DEAL WITH THIS BIG OAF-” He sent a pointed glare to Oak. “-AND TIED UP AGAINST MY WILL- ALMOST DYING TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS- YOU AND THE ENEMY WERE PLAYING TONGUES?” He snarled.

“What!! I didn't kiss him! He kissed me!! And  _ I _ almost  _ died _ because of  _ you.  _ You brought that upon yourself, buddy. I was just trying to help!” You shout back, trying to defend yourself.

“YOU WERE IN OUR TERRITORY. I HAD IT UNDER CONTROL.” He retorted.

“hey, guys… we don’t really need to fight right now. we can-”

“QUIET SANS.” You both yell in synchronization.

“ _ Your _ territory?? This is  _ my _ house, and you were on  _ my _ property. Not to mention how both of you were passed out and near dusting.” You retort back. 

Everyone just watched as you two went back and forth a little bit, eye-lights darting to and fro from whoever spoke next. You weren’t actually mad- you were just merely matching Mal’s energy.

“OH AND SICKING YOUR EVEN BIGGER AND EVEN UGLIER GUARD DOG ON US REALLY HELPED WITH THAT.” He said, referencing Oak.

“Well, maybe, if you actually listened to me, instead of trying to wedge a bone through my skull- Oak wouldn't've had to do that, now would he? And by the sounds of it, you kind of deserved it.” You answer, thinking back to Oak’s poor skull.

“well, if you guys are done with your lover's quarrel, you should hurry up and kiss and makeup so we can actually listen to what these guys have to say.” The tall skeleton said. That made you and Mal shut up real quick.

“IT’S NOT A LOVER’S QUARREL, YOU BONEHEAD. I’M PROVING THAT I’M RIGHT.” His face has a lilac shade to it as he blushed in embarrassment. You only sigh and roll your eyes.

After a second of silence, Sans finally cleared his throat.

“uh... well, if we’re done with that…” You and Mal refuse eye contact with each other as Sans spoke. “we have- uh- some explaining to do, at the least.” He said, making eye contact with you. You let out a quiet sigh. Remember the articles… 

“WE KIND OF GAVE MAL AND CASH THE RUNDOWN WHILE YOU WERE GONE. IT WAS JUST THE SAME STUFF YOU WERE TOLD LAST NIGHT.” Papyrus jumped it. Cash? That must be the name they gave Mal’s brother.

“Is it about why you didn’t tell me? Or is there more we should know?” You ask. Everyone kind of looked around guiltily.

“WELL… MOSTLY ABOUT WHY WE DIDN’T TELL YOU…” Blue said. You move, so you’re at the edge of the seat and sit straight.

“Listen, guys… I know why you didn’t tell me- it’s a crazy story that no one would believe and whatnot- I get it. But, while that is true, I’m still a little upset that you guys kept it from me. Even if I had found it hard to believe, it still wouldn’t have affected my choice of letting you guys stay here. Would I have considered having you guys talk to your therapist about it? Maybe- But I wouldn’t have just left you guys to sit and suffer. I consider you all my friends now, and I wish you would’ve just been honest in the start.” They nod their heads in shame.

“SO WE SHOULD… PROBABLY START PACKING, RIGHT?” Papyrus asked, a look of a kicked-puppy on his face.

“No.” That raised some heads.

“NO?” Mal asked. Others also chimed in their own confusion. “DIDN’T THEY LIE TO YOU? TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU AS YOU LET THEM INTO YOUR HOME?” A few- A.K.A. Red- quietly seethed at Mal’s last comment, ready to strangle him.

“While, yes, they did keep a secret from me- they didn’t do it out of bad intentions. I mean, I’ve kept secrets of my own before. Maybe nothing crazy like alternate universes… but secrets. Otherwise, they’ve all been nothing but kind and helpful to my animals and me. There are quite a few other positive things I could also list… but if you all swear to me that this is the last of the secrets… I forgive you guys. I may not forget- but I'll forgive you.” Papyrus jumped and ran to you, sweeping you off the couch and swinging you around. Blue and a few others also came over to join in, making you smile a bit- your heart finally starting to wind down from the conflicted emotions.

“WE SWEAR!” Paps yelled, cracking your back a little by his tight embrace.

“Okay! But! That does mean that we need to start setting boundaries, though, and actually talking things through like we’re doing now.” Edge nodded.

“I AGREE. SOME BOUNDARIES IS WHAT WE NEED. ESPECIALLY WITH THE ADDITION OF MAL AND CASH.” He said.

“uh, bro… i don’t think they mentioned letting them stay...” Red said, making Edge grimace for a second. 

“U-UH. YES! I MEAN FOR IF THEY STAY.” He declared. You nod your head.

“They’re able to stay if they want. The house will be pretty cramped, though.” You answered. Mal rolled his eyes.

“I DON’T NEED TO STAY HERE. I’M GOING TO FIND A WAY OUT OF THIS PLACE AND GET BACK TO THE UNIVERSE, WE BELONG IN.” He stated, frowning at the group.

“i don’t know, bro… seems pretty nice here… and we’re on the surface now.” Cash said. He started to lean over to you again after you sat back down, now resting his head on your shoulder, cuddling up to you like some housecat. This made Blue narrow his eye sockets at him, while you gave Cash an unimpressed look.

“YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT- LIKE ALWAYS.” He spat, making Cash wince a little. “I’M GOING TO GO HOME. HUMAN, MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL AND UNTIE ME.” Everyone gave you an unsure look, but you reached for the hose to untie it anyway.

“I’ll untie it once you promise not to attack anyone.” He rolled his eye-lights.

“AS MUCH AS I’D LOVE TO- THERE’S EIGHT OTHER VERSIONS OF MYSELF AND MY BROTHER KEEPING ME FROM DOING SO.” He said. You shrug and untie him, letting him move his arms freely. “FINALLY. NOW IF YOU’LL ALL EXCUSE ME- I’VE GOT PLACES TO BE.” He said, getting up and making his way towards the door.

“Where are you going?” You ask him. He scoffed and gave a click of his heel as he turned to face you.

“AS FAR AWAY FROM THIS PLACE AS POSSIBLE. MAYBE I’LL BE LUCKY AND FALL INTO A PIT THAT’LL TAKE ME HOME.” He said. 

“Well… Did you want dinner first? I’m sure leaving on an empty stomach wouldn’t do much good.” You say, innocently. 

Not really. You knew what you were doing. The same thing you had to do with Red. Show kindness and patience- then you’ll beat him at his own game. The more hospitality you show, the less inclined he’ll be to leave. 

If he wanted to leave- that’s fine. You won’t stop him if that’s what he truly wants. But with him being on the surface with no one he knows, except for his brother and what little he knows about you and everyone else… Well... it’ll be a challenge for him.

“HMM… I SUPPOSE YOU ARE RIGHT. I’LL TAKE MY FOOD, AND THEN I WILL BE OFF.”

“Sure thing, man. I’ll get something ready-”

“NO!! WE SHOULD BE THE ONE’S MAKING DINNER.” Several shouted.

“We Still Want To Make It Up To You…” Willow said. Your heart clenched at him as you gave a tender smile.

“Thanks, guys.” Everyone passes you, either giving you quick hugs, pats on the back, or- in Red’s case- an elbow nudge so hard that it almost knocks you down, making you laugh. You look down at Cash, who was still sitting on the couch. “You comin’?” You ask, holding out an arm for him.

“oh? for me? what a kindly gesture.” He said a dopey smile on his face. You just shake your head a little with a small chortle as he looped his arm with your own, leading him to the table in his goofy state.

“So when should the pain medicine wear off, anyway?” You ask as you make Cash sit down.

“the doc said the stronger stuff should go away later tonight. he still has a bottle he has to take for his other injuries, though.” You frown and look at Cash.

“How are you feeling, Cash?” You ask. He shrugged.

“pretty good. the stuff in the underground isn’t nearly as good as this, though…” Mal growled and slammed his hands down.

“THEY’RE NOT ASKING ABOUT YOUR DRUG PROBLEM, YOU DEAD-BEAT. THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT YOUR EYE THAT YOU LOST BECAUSE OF YOUR OWN STUPIDITY.” He snarled. This caused everyone to go silent at the sudden outburst on Mal’s part- both at how upset the small skeleton truly seemed at his brother and by how much baggage that statement carried.

You and everyone in the room make quick eye contact with each other with silent, bewildered looks of ‘did y’all just hear that?’.

“holy shit, dude…” Red said. Mal sat back down in his seat, fuming silently to himself. He had that look that you knew the feeling to, all too well. 

The look of a broken, older sibling who feels that they didn’t do enough for the younger one.

Cash sighed and leaned back into his chair after his brother’s outburst.

“‘t’s true. i got blindsided- in more ways than one... heh.” He laughed at his own joke that had others tugging at their collars. “was gonna’ meet up with one of my so-called ‘friends’...” He said with air quotations. “turns out it was a set-up because i was worth quite a lot of money where i come from. they just used me for that reward cash. hence the nickname.” He said.

“AND IF IT WEREN’T FOR THE FACT THAT I WAS ON PATROL IN THAT AREA- YOU’D’VE BEEN DUSTED.” Mal seethed. Cash rubbed the back of his head, starting to go quiet.

“... So, uh, there’s a lot to unpack here…” You started. “...Is that why you were both injured when you showed up?” You asked. Mal let out a huff, making his brother know that he wasn’t going to be the one to talk.

“yes... it was good timing…” Mal sat up straight in his chair and pointed an aggressive finger at him.

“ _ GOOD TIMING _ ? ONLY  _ GOOD _ ? IT WAS A DAMN  _ MIRACLE  _ IT HAPPENED WHEN IT DID. YOU LOST ANOTHER TOOTH AND GOT YOUR EYE GOUGED OUT- AND I NEARLY LOST MY OWN BECAUSE OF THAT STUPID MUTT  _ FRIEND  _ OF YOURS. THEY BEAT YOU TO 1/8TH OF YOUR LIFE, AND YOU THINK IT WAS JUST  _ GOOD  _ TIMING??” Another round of nervous glances circled around your group. You were all just astonished at everything getting laid out on the table like this. The two brothers stayed silent, as did everyone else.

“Um… I’m Not Sure If This Is The Time… But The Food’s Ready…” Willow said. Everyone let out a slight breath of relief as the plates got passed out to everyone.

“Thanks, Willow! It looks great!” You say appreciatively, in more ways than one. Everyone starts to dig in a little, still pretty shocked at how tense it got. They thought they had problems…

“You know… Going along with the boundaries and everything- I think it goes without saying that we should continue to stay honest with each other- no matter how big or small it might be. And Cash… I think it should be made clear that you should seek help with your addiction. I’d love for you and your brother to stay, but drugs are a serious thing. It could hurt you and a lot of other people. If you want, we can help you find someone that can help you with it.” You stated firmly. He sighed but gave a small and defeated smile.

“yeah... yeah, that sounds good, for once...” He said. You gave a tender smile as Mal looked a little shocked but ate his food anyway- conflicted emotions evident on his face.

“Red Says That He Really Likes His Therapist! Isn’t That Right, Red?” Willow said. Red grinned; his mouth was still full.

“oh yeah. she’s the best-” He started.

“BROTHER. WHAT HAVE I SAID ABOUT EATING WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!” Edge yelled, once again, abusing your poor table that has done nothing to the sharp skeleton. Red rolled his eye-lights with a ‘yeah, yeah.’ “ABSOLUTE SAVAGE.” Edge muttered to himself, going back to eating his chicken wings with a fork and knife.

…

The human laughed at the two skeletons with red accented clothes, making Mal and Cash look up from their food, as a few others joined in with them in their laughter.

“WHAT IS SO FUNNY?” Edge asked his hands on his hip bones.

“Why are you eating chicken wings with a fork and knife, Edge?” They wheezed. Mal and Cash both observed how the taller, easily more dangerous monster just let the human; nothing compared to the 6’5 giant- continue to laugh at him. 

Edge rolled his eyes and pointed at them with the end of his fork, a calm expression on his face.

“BECAUSE IT IS SIMPLY GOOD MANNERS! YOU SHOULD PRACTICE NOW BEFORE YOU END UP LIKE ANY OF THESE THREE SLOBS-” He answered, gesturing towards his brother, the short one that went by his actual name, and a tall, lanky skeleton in an orange hoodie- all of which had barbeque sauce covering their faces. The human laughed some more, wiping a tear, and a few of the others joined in with the light-hearted atmosphere, the whole opposite vibe from the one from earlier.

Mal and his brother make quick eye contact, the same thoughts in mind.

No silverware being thrown? No plans of an attack? He’s letting the human get away with that? But he’s the bigger one! Why is he letting these other ones laugh at him? He could indeed take on everyone- spare maybe the giant one that goes by Oak- but otherwise, a royal guardsman recognizes another royal guardsman and their ability. So what is he doing by letting them laugh like they’re on the same level?

A soft nudge of his elbow made him snap over to the human in question.

“You doing okay, Mal? Did ya’ need anything? I could grab it for you.” They said. It stumped him.

“AND WHY DO  _ YOU  _ CARE?” He asked, his bonebrow raised. They shrugged.

“Just thought I’d ask.” They said. He stayed quiet as they went back to storytelling with the others at the table.

“SOME WINE…” He said finally. They turned back over.

“Wine? I could look to see if I have some from the past owners. There’s a wine cellar I could check.” They answered, standing up.

“where ya’ goin’, sparkles?” Red asked.

“I’m going to see if there’s some wine in the cellar. Mal wanted some.” They answered. They left the room, giving Mal a perfect chance to finally ask his question.

“YOU. THE TALL ROYAL GUARDSMEN. YOU GO BY EDGE, CORRECT?” Edge made eye contact, making him put down his half-raised fork with food on it.

“YES. THAT IS CORRECT.” Mal and Cash again make eye contact before turning their attention back to him.

“WHY’D YOU LET THE HUMAN LAUGH AT YOU LIKE THAT?” He asked. He, and a few others, gave looks of confusion, making Mal groan. “YOU’RE A ROYAL GUARDSMAN, CORRECT? WHY WOULD YOU ALLOW SOMEONE AS LOWLY AS THAT HUMAN LAUGH AT YOU LIKE THAT? YOU CAN TAKE OUT ANYONE HERE, RIGHT NOW IF YOU WANTED. AND YET, YOU DON’T. WHY NOT?”

“probably because it’s socially unacceptable. literally everywhere except where you’re from, apparently.” The one in the orange hoodie answered. Edge nodded.

“I AM NO LONGER A ROYAL GUARDSMAN. EVER SINCE WE GOT TO THE SURFACE, THERE WAS NO NEED TO CONTINUE TO LIVE THE WAY WE DID IN THE UNDERGROUND.” His brother nodded.

“yeah, man. plus, it was jus’ a joke. they weren’t actually laughin’ at boss- they were bein’ friendly like most people do ‘ere.” Mal and Cash send another look to each other. “listen- boss an’ i come from a background that’s probably similar to yer’ own. wantin’ to dust each other, take whatever goods they got, have a hierarchy… ya’ get the gist. here, though, it’s great. people are jus’ nice ‘cuz they wanna be- no matter whatcha’ look like or how much dough ya’ got in yer wallet. they can be genuinely nice without wantin’ anything in return.” He finished. The one in the blue hoodie, Sans, nudged him.

“wonder where you got that from, buddy.” He said, making the red one’s magic flare up as his face was dusted in blush. The two started to argue- well- the red one argued while the other did next-to-nothing about it, making Mal drown it out until the human came back in. (F/n)- if he remembers correctly.

“What are you guys arguing about now?” They asked, making Red and the other one that goes by Sans, finally pipe themselves down.

“nothin’. just red taking some of papyrus’s advice.” Red snarled again, spewing a few more threats to the one in blue, making (F/n) roll their eyes. 

“Here! I found this in the wine cellar. I don’t really drink, so you can have it. I’ll get you a glass!” He watched as they gave him a fancy wine glass and filled it for him. All the while, he thought about what Red said. People can be friendly because they want to be, hm?

“THANK YOU.” He said. The human- (F/n)- sat back down in the seat next to him and gave him a grin.

“Of course!” They replied.

The idea lifted enormous amounts of weight off of his shoulders. The idea of no longer needing to do patrols around the house at night to make sure others hadn’t broken in... Cash no longer being around those crowds of people or getting in trouble with the law… No more random screams in the middle of the night from another crime that couldn’t be stopped… But- it also shot fear deep into his soul. 

It was terrible where they were from. Every night he’d wish for the barrier to break and to finally be free of the hellhole and go off into a place to make a better life for himself- and Cash- if he’d ever try to change… But with it suddenly being in his grasp, what was he going to do now? He’d spent his whole life dreaming, but now that it was here- he didn’t know what to do. The underground is all he knew.

Another round of laughter from around the table snapped him out of his inner monologue.

“Hey, Mal. Did you want to go star-gazing with us tonight? You probably didn’t get to enjoy them the other day, so why not join us and we could try to tell you, and your brother about them?” (F/n) asked.

“... STARS?...” He asked. Oh yeah. Those little shining lights in the sky that he used to talk to Cash about when he was still a babybones. Mal remembered that he used to tell Cash that he’d let him on his shoulders so he could touch the stars- if the barrier ever broke. He forgot about that dream. 

Clearing his throat and trying to regain his composure, he sat up straight. 

“I SUPPOSE SO. IF THAT’S WHAT YOU ALL INSIST ON.”

“well, what are ya’ waiting on, buddy? let’s watch the sunset before the stars come.” Sans said as they walked past him.

They go outside to see that the sun was just barely above the horizon, giving a beautiful pink glow to the world around them. It blinded him for a second, not at all used to the sunlight. Once his eyes started to adjust more, he could begin to make out things.

Mal saw as his little brother had a stunned look on his face, taking in the area around him. He, himself, wasn’t any better. He was trying his best to hold in tears as the streaks of pink clouds made their way across the orange sky- the wild grass surrounding the area glowed with the warm hue and wisped away in the soft breeze, like a ripple of water. 

It was all so… breathtaking… and so overwhelming. He’s felt a tear slip right by him, making him quickly wipe at it in hopes no one saw. Well, he failed, as he felt a bony hand on his shoulder. Looking up, it was Cash, tears of his own falling from one eye as the other started to dampen through his bandages.

“it’s beautiful.” Cash said, continuing to stare at the scenery in front of them, taking in the sounds of the birds fluttering by to head back to their nests for the night. Mal nodded his head.

“... YEAH… IT IS….” They haven’t spoken one-on-one like this in a long time. Not since Cash started to get into trouble with his addiction back in the underground. Cash gave a somber smile.

“ya’ still gonna carry me on your shoulders, like you promised all those years ago?” He asked, referring to the memory Mal was thinking about moments back.

“I DIDN’T KNOW YOU EVEN REMEMBERED THAT.” He said, giving his younger sibling a small smile. The taller of the two rubbed the back of his head.

“i remember a lot of things… though… i guess a lot of them have lost meaning throughout the years…” Mal only hummed, watching as the sun was now rapidly disappearing before their very eyes. “can’t believe people are able to see this everyday…” 

“IT’S FASCINATING, ISN’T IT? AND IT HAPPENED EVERY SINGLE DAY- ABOVE US- FOR YEARS.” Cash nodded. The two looked over to see the group as they were sitting down on several large blankets, the scenery now growing rapidly darker.

“WE’RE OVER HERE! COME LAY DOWN WITH US! IT GIVES YOU A BETTER VIEW!” Blue called out. The two brothers held a moment’s gaze before shrugging and joining them on the blankets and pillows.

“when d'ya grab these?” Cash asked, sitting down on the blankets.

“when ya’ were both cryin’ like babies- ow!” Red rubbed the back of his head as (F/n) sat behind him, giving him a good flick to the noggin’.

“Be nice, Red. It’s the first time they’ve been able to enjoy a sunset.” They said.

“yeah. remember your first sunset?” Sans said.

“OH! OH! I CRIED LIKE A BABY!” Blue said, waving his hand around.

“yeah you did.” Stretch said, snorting as Blue punched him.

“YOU CRIED HARDER!”

“so maybe i did.”

“Look! The Stars Are Finally Starting To Show!” Willow said, pointing towards the darkened sky. Looking up, a few stars started to appear. It blew Mal and Cash away, Mal gasping a little louder than he wanted. “If You Think That’s Cool, Then Just Wait When They’re All Visible!” 

“there’s more?” Cash asked. The way it sounded so child-like- so wonderfully innocent- it reminded Mal of the old Cash. His brother, Cash.

Mal’s eye sockets started to sting with more tears that he tried his absolute hardest to hide.

Has his brother actually been here the whole time? Had he'd just been silenced and replaced by the shell of addiction? The one that plagued his little sibling the entirety of all those terrible years and Mal just gave up hope? Had he failed to see that his little brother was still there? Scared and begging to be let out in his moment of sobriety?

The whole time he thought he was a lost cause when in reality, he was just a lost soul.

“ ** countless. ** ” Oak chimed, giving them a much softer look than he has been all that day.

Willow nodded and pointed towards the sky again, showing hundreds more that decided to show up within the short exchange.

“bro... are you seeing this, sansy?” He asked, excitedly tugging on Mal’s shirt as he kept his gaze on the stars. He was happy that he was because tears were silently pouring out like no other as he also looked at the stars. Both the ones in the sky and the one in front of him that he hasn’t seen for over seven years.

“Yeah. I Do, Pappy. I Do See The Stars.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hurt my own feelings with this one, dawg 😐 AKLDFJAKLDSJ  
> Addiction is a pretty close-to-home topic for a lot of people, including myself with close relatives, so sorry this was a little more somber than I originally anticipated. But! At least it was a happy moment!! Thank you guys for reading and I love all of your comments 🥺 Have a good night and try not to get completely boned ;)


	10. A Good Rest Is What We Need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we can get a breath of fresh air.

In the corner of your eye, you can see tears reflect off of Mal’s face from the moonlight- making you smile to yourself, content with seeing him finally happy for the first time since he and his brother showed up. Cash was going on and on about the stars and how there could possibly be so many, as hundreds upon thousands started to shine clearly without the polluted sky. He was still holding tight on Mal’s shirt sleeve as he pointed at individual stars that made shapes. He had a child-like wonder that you couldn’t help but also get excited. It’s the first time either of them has seen the stars! How could they not be ecstatic?

“You know, those shapes are actually constellations. We could tell you a little about them!” You say, leaning over to the excitable Cash. He had a gleam in his one visible eye, curiosity shining through them. “So that, over there, would be the big dipper. It looks like a ladle! At the end of spoon looking part- it points over to the north star, which also makes the little dipper-” 

You continued to point out constellations, Sans and everyone else also jumping in to show constellations of their own or sharing a fun fact about them. 

Eventually- after gathering himself- Mal had scooted over to the other side of you as were explaining the stars to his brother, now making both brothers sandwich you as they leaned in close to look at what exactly you were pointing at- Cash just straight up leaning on you with his head on your shoulder.

…

“THAT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A LION. THAT IS A SWAN THAT A CHILD DREW. HOW COULD THEY POSSIBLY NAME THAT LEO? THAT’S PREPOSTEROUS!” Mal exclaimed. Stretch had to agree with him there. That definitely looks more like a poorly drawn swan than a lion. He probably would have voiced that he was right if it weren’t for the fact that he was too busy feeling slightly envious that Cash was able to snuggle up to (F/n) like that. 

He wanted affection… He was just too shy to ask for it. How could he be so bold?? And didn’t he kiss them the other night too?? He remembers Blue texting him like wild after it happened. 

He’s pretty sure that his brother has a crush on them- but he’s not going to think of it as a big deal, considering that he believed that the lady at the McDonald’s drive-thru had a thing for him since they gave him an extra ranch cup. He even went as far as to swerve around and pull into the restaurant to meet his “new potential date-mate”... He got over the crush the next day when the cashier at the grocery store accidentally brushed hands with him after giving back his change. He falls in love quickly.

He looked over to his brother to see him looking near heart-broken at Cash snuggling up to them like that. Oh boy…

“hey (f/n). why don’t we have another cozy session like the one a few days ago?” He asked, trying his hardest not to go completely orange-faced. He could feel his hands start to shake, becoming clammy as he cracked his knuckles. His brother better thank him for this… 

“Oh, that’s a great idea!” They answered, thrilled at the idea.

“WHAT’S A COZY SESSION? ARE WE NOT ALREADY SITTING ON BLANKETS AND PILLOWS?” Mal asked.

“OH!! I WANT A COZY SESSION!!” Blue shouted. He quickly sprang over and wedged himself in between Mal and (F/n), pulling the two into him as he gave a tight squeeze… but you can clearly see the way he favored (F/n) by squishing his face against theirs. ‘  _ way to make it obvious, bro…  _ ’ He thought to himself, sliding a hand down his face.

“WHAT IN QUEEN TORIEL’S TYRANT ARE YOU DOING??” Mal yelled, throwing Blue off of him, standing up with a bright purple face. He looked absolutely mortified as his magic made his blush glow in the dark. “I KNEW THIS WAS A TRAP ALL ALONG!! CASH-” Sans put a hand on his shoulder, a lazy grin on his face.

“calm down, bro. it’s just a cozy session. ya know? like huddling up together, like cats do.” Mal made a face of disgust and was abashed.

“YOU MEAN YOU ALL JUST COZY UP TO EACH OTHER? AND FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT??” Sans just shrugged and plopped down next to Blue, resting his head on the louder version of himself.

“I AGREE. IT’S REVOLTING! I SHALL SIT HERE AND CONTINUE TO JUDGE YOU ALL FROM AFAR, THANK YOU.” Edge said, crossing his arms and huffing. Red shrugged.

“alright, i guess i’ll join this time. move over, funny man.” Red got up and sat with his back to Sans, leaning into him to rest against his counterpart's arm and putting his head on his shoulder. “you’re not really soft, you know that?” Sans chuckled.

“sorry. i’ll make sure to put some more meat on my bones for ya’.” Red also let out a chuckle, making Papyrus and Blue roll their eyes. 

Papyrus and Willow came over to Cash’s other side, motioning a gesture for permission to sit next to the golden-fanged counterpart. Anyone could see how hesitant and unsure Cash was to the new way of living- much less with affection added to it- but he allowed them to join. Papyrus and Willow still respected his space, mostly just sitting close to him and each other. Oak even joined in, plopping down in front of his brother and leaning back to rest his head on Willow's lap that had a pillow on it.

That just left him. Well, he and the two others that were stingy about touch.

“You gonna join us, Stretch?” (F/n) asked. He kind of internally panicked. Well, he wanted to really bad, but where would he sit? Red would probably give him crap about it if he sat with him, he doesn’t really know Oak like that, and if Stretch sat in front of anyone, he might block their view… but he couldn’t say no!! He was the one to initiate the idea!! He could feel himself clamming up as he started to scrape at his scarred metacarpals again.

“BROTHER, THERE’S PLENTY OF SPACE HERE!” He looked to his brother to see him pat the spot in front of him. “YOU CAN JUST LAY DOWN!” 

“Yeah! Come join us!” (F/n) chimed in. He felt his body relax more as he took a silent, deep breath. Oh, thank the stars for his brother and his clear-mindedness.

He got up and made his way over in front of them and his brother. He still wasn’t sure. Would it be crossing the line to put his head on (F/n)’s lap? Would his brother be upset? Should he just rest his head on the blanket? To cut him out of his thoughts, they patted their lap, giving him his answer.

He meekly rested his head on their thigh, melting into it instantly. It was warm and much softer than just bones like he had. He’s glad he asked for the cozy session.

“IS THIS NOT SICKENING TO YOU ALL?” Mal said, huffy as he sat next to Edge on their own little corner of the blankets. “THINGS LIKE THAT SHOULD BE RESERVED FOR YOUR SOULMATE.” (F/n)’s interest seemed to peak.

“Oh, you believe in soulmates, Mal?! That’s super sweet!” They say, just swooning at the idea. “I always wanted a soulmate!” Mal scoffed, blushing a bit out of embarrassment.

“IT’S NOT THAT TYPE OF SOULMATE YOU HUMANS PROBABLY CAME UP WITH! A SOULMATE IS WHAT MONSTERS HAVE WHEN THEY INITIATE ROMANTIC INTERESTS WITH EACH OTHER.” Stretch looked up to see their eyes practically sparkling. Huh, Red’s nickname started to make sense now.

“Oh! So it’s what monsters call the person they’re dating, right?” Mal stammered a bit, letting Cash continue for him.

“kind of. but it’s more for serious relationships. they mostly become “soulmates” when they show each other their souls. it’s an older monster tradition, but a lot of us still stick to it.” Cash answered. They looked a little confused, so Stretch tried to jump in.

“they show each other their souls to basically make a statement that they’re willing to trust them, even in their most vulnerable state. it’s kind of like a monster’s version of saying ‘i love you’ and that they want to work towards marriage, basically.” Their eyes bulged a little.

“Wait! Does that automatically make you soulmates?? Paps did I accidentally make you become my soulmate??” They asked worriedly. Cash and Mal’s own eyes bulged, immediately shooting looks to the skeleton with the bright orange face. A few of the others also looked over- those who were out of the loop, or in Oak’s case, forgotten.

“YOU SHOWED EACH OTHER YOUR SOULS??” Several of those called out. Now both of the two had hot faces.

“calm down, everyone. it wasn’t meant like that. they were curious about souls, so paps just showed them what their soul looked like. they didn’t exchange them or anything.” Sans tuned in, sticking up for his brother and friend. Some- A.K.A. Stretch’s brother- sighed in relief. “don’t worry about it, (f/n). you only become soulmates if that’s the intention. you were only curious about what it looked like.” Sans sent them a wink, making them smile.

“Oh good! For a second, I thought I forced poor Paps into becoming soulmates with me.” They seemed to relax and laughed a little. “I would’ve felt so bad.”

“DON’T WORRY, (F/N)! I WOULD HAVE WARNED YOU IF THAT WAS THE CASE!! NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus answered.

“I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE YOU NUMBSKULLS SHOWED YOUR SOULS TO EACH OTHER! DO YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT IS? THERE’S A REASON PEOPLE WAIT TO SHOW THE PERSON THEY TRUST! ESPECIALLY WITH A MONSTER AND A HUMAN! THEY COULD HAVE EASILY DUSTED YOU!” Mal shouted again. (F/n)’s eyes widen.

“I wouldn't do that!! Are you crazy?!” They shouted back in bewilderment.

“dude, calm down, would ya’? they’re a greeny anyway. an’ humans aren’t all out fer’ blood, ya’ know that, right?” Red said, lazily cracking an eye socket open. Sudden cackling from Cash made everyone look over.

“you’re a green soul?? oh wow! i’ve never been so unsurprised in my life!” He wiped an invisible tear from his unbandaged eye. They looked to him in bewilderment.

“What’s wrong with a green soul?? What does that mean??” They looked to Papyrus for an explanation.

“IT JUST MEANS YOU HAVE A KINDNESS SOUL! AND DON’T LISTEN TO THEM- THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT!” He raised a bonebrow to Cash with a scolding look. Red chuckled from where he was.

“don’t cha’ fret sparkles. a little kindness never hurt nobody.”

“OH, A GREEN SOUL!! THAT EXPLAINS SO MUCH!” They looked confused by Blue’s comment, making Stretch smirk.

“he always talks about how nice you are.” They gave a bashful smile while his brother blushed. 

“W-WELL, IT’S TRUE!” They laugh and gently nudge his brother as they lean their head on his shoulder, slightly nuzzling their cheek against Blue’s face.

“Well, I think you’re just as nice.” Stretch watches as his brother’s face lights up with bright blue magic, and his eyes turn starry-eyed.

“MWEH HEH HEH!! YOU HAVEN’T SEEN NICE YET!!” Stretch can’t help but roll his eyes a little. Oh boy, now they’ve done it. Now his brother will try to make them swoon by showing off for the next week- or maybe shorter if someone accidentally ‘tried to show interest in him’ by just doing their regular routine one day.

…

You all spent a few hours watching the stars, everyone starting to pile up into each other as it grew more chilly and by how tired everyone was becoming. Upon noticing a few already snoring, You decide to gently brush your fingertips against Stretch’s head to try to politely wake him up from his iron-grasp around your thigh that he was now cuddling into like a pillow.

“Maybe we should head inside now.” You say. Blue looked up from his curled up position as he held onto your arm.

“YEAH, WE PROBABLY SHOULD. IT’S GETTING COLD OUT.” Stretch groggily awoke with a groan before making his way completely onto your lap and held onto you like a koala, snuggling into the crook of your neck that tickled you a little. “STRETCH, YOU CAN’T JUST MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME ON (F/N).” He turned to you. “SORRY. HE TENDS TO BE CLINGY AT TIMES.” You wave him off and laugh a little.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind a bit.” You nudge tenderly. “Should I carry you in?” He chuckled.

“yes, please.” Blue rolled his eyes.

“GET UP, YOU LAZYBONES!” This awoke everyone else, now making every get up wearily.

“ugh. my ass is numb now,” Red said, rubbing his lack of a butt.

“Red, I don’t think you have one.” (F/n) chimes, making others sputter out a laugh as Red blushed.

“i do too! you see these glutes?” He said, popping it out dramatically, making you snort. “Well, I guess I can’t argue with… however that works.” You say. He laughs, placing his hands on his hips, strikes a valley-girl pose. “don’t be jealous.” Stretch finally gets up, allowing you to walk over to him and give him a playful shove. “I’ll try not to.” This, in turn, started a slight wrestling match, making you and Red both begin to push against each other with determined smiles.

“beat you to the house, sparkles.” He said, giving you a final shove.

“In your dreams!” You start to take off, looking back to see Red still standing, giving you an antagonizing wave as everyone else was just calmly walking. You turn to look towards the house to find Red now sitting on the porch with a big, dumb grin on his face.

“oh man, are you guys slow.” You finally made it up there and gave him another playful shove. “You big cheater! You can’t shortcut!” He gave a cocky smirk. “oh yeah? who said?” You roll your eyes and go into the house, everyone following suit.

“I’m heading to bed. Night guys!” You call out, going up the stairs as Boots and Gizmo followed- Armageddon racing around the corner to greet Edge with an enthusiastic mewl.

Edge picked up the fluffy ball of fur and held them to his chest.

“I WILL ALSO BE RETIRING TO MY ROOM FOR THE NIGHT.” You stop yourself from entering your room as you quickly race down the stairs, remembering your new guests.

“Oh right! Cash and Mal need a place to stay.” You say, racing down the steps. Edge stops himself from going back to his room.

“OH, THAT’S CORRECT. WELL… I SUPPOSE I HAVE SPACE IF EITHER WOULD WANT TO JOIN…” Mal gave a look of disgust.

“WITH THAT LITTLE HAIRBALL? NO THANKS.” Mal said, making Edge prop a hand on his hip.

“WHAT’S WRONG WITH ARMAGEDDON?” Edge asked, holding the purring kitten closer to him as he glared defensively. Everyone started to shoot looks back and forth, making you worry about your surrounding furniture.

“ANYTHING WITH FUR IS A PAIN IN MY NECK. HAIR GETS EVERYWHERE AND ALL THEY DO IS EAT, SLEEP, AND POOP.” The glares get more intense until Cash decided to chime in.

“that’s all i do.” You snort as Mal gives his brother a glare.

“I KNOW YOU DO.” You raise a finger, trying to diffuse the situation, but Stretch also voices his opinion.

“ya’ know this is pretty much a farm, right? most things here have fur.” This makes the color on Mal’s face drain.

“YOU MEAN THERE’S MORE THAN JUST THESE SLOBBERING DOOFUSES AND THIS HAIRBALL?” Oak lets out a chuckle.

“  ** how about i show you around the place tomorrow?  ** ” He antagonized, making Mal shoot him a sharp glare.

“How about we talk about that tomorrow, yeah? For now, I can pull up an air mattress and give you guys some blankets and pillows.” They agree, begrudgingly on Mal’s part, but you go down to the basement, grab it anyway and bring it back up and fill it for them. 

Coming back up, everyone seemed to go to their own rooms- Oak just standing awkwardly in the middle of the room like some sims character.

“Oak, did you want your spot back on the couch? Or you can stay in my room again tonight if you want.” This made Cash look up and wiggle his bonebrows, making you roll your eyes for probably the hundredth time this day. “Cash… I’m begging you… Just for one second…” He laughed and jumped on the air mattress- sending his brother flying off of it.

“BROTHER-” Oak follows you silently as you both leave the two brothers to fight amongst themselves.

Climbing under the covers, Oak laid pretty much on the edge of the bed, looking at you with his red eye-light, as if asking permission to scoot closer.

“You don’t have to lay on the edge, Oak. You can come as close as you want.” He shyly scoots over some more, making you wonder if he happened to forget that you gave him permission to lie down with you the other night. Deciding to take matters into your own hands for him to feel comfortable with staying with you again, you move over and sling and arm over him, pulling yourself into his chest.

You can feel his soul beat louder as he purred, now fully embracing you as he finally moved from the edge and towards the middle of the bed.

“Goodnight, Oak.” He held you tighter as he rested his forehead against the top of your head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! It's a little shorter than normal- mostly because I think everyone could just use a fluff chapter to take a breather from everything happening! Thank you guys so much for the continuous support!! You always make my day :') Remember not to get completely boned! ;)


	11. Cash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some silly chore shenanigans that make you smile, and some insides to Cash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!  
> A large portion of this chapter will focus on recovery from addictions and withdrawal symptoms! If that is a bit triggering to you, I left some warnings where it starts and where it ends! Please stay safe!

Things finally started to settle after two months of everyone moving in, and the drama finally subsided between the unexpected visitors, the air growing crisper as autumn began to approach.

After the night with Mal and Cash being welcomed in and experiencing one of the surfaces many nights with stars and skies, things slowly started to fall into place. Albeit- it was a strange and sometimes chaotic way of falling together, but a peculiar sense of togetherness made things begin to feel like home.

Was it a weird home with vastly different personalities and backgrounds of each resident that shared the house? Yes. But it was _their_ weird home and odd residents.

“Finally bringing yourself to try to help with the animals?” You mused, watching as Mal jumped in place as he tried to pull his overalls over his regular clothes. “You know you usually just wear the overalls as the actual outfit, right?” 

“LIKE I WOULD EVER WEAR THIS ABOMINATION OF AN ATTIRE AS MY ACTUAL CLOTHES.” Mal hissed, standing up straight after putting on his purple, flowery mud boots he bought. Red rounded the corner and whistled, eyeing the saucy skeleton.

“wow, you’re actually going to try to feed the animals today? only took two months.” He teased. Mal just narrowed his eye sockets at him and huffed.

“OH YEAH. AND THROWING CHICKEN SEED AT THE COOP AND CALLING IT ‘FAST FOOD DELIVERY’ COUNTS AS FEEDING THEM.” Red laughed as you shook your head.

“heheh... good times.” You rolled your eyes and elbowed Red. 

“Oh yeah, I loved having to hear the chickens freak out for the next twenty minutes after that.” 

“oh, you’re gonna join us, bro?” Cash said, popping his head around the corner. Mal groaned and dragged a hand down his face.

“WHAT IS THIS? AN INTERROGATION? I’M SIMPLY JUST TRYING TO HOLD ON OUR END OF THE BARGAIN UNTIL I’M NO LONGER FORCED TO SHARE A ROOM WITH _THESE_ TWO-” He jabbed a thumb behind him towards Papyrus and Blue; making the two look over with happy confusion. “-AND ALL THESE OTHER FURRY NIGHTMARES.” 

Just to prove his point, Boots and Gizmo run around the corner and jump up to greet the grumpy monster with slobbery kisses, causing him to yell.

“WHAT HAVE I SAID ABOUT JUMPING UP ON ME?! YOU HAVE FOUR FEET MEANT FOR WALKING ON THE GROUND. NOW MAKE THEM STAY THERE!” The dogs pay no mind to his yelling- mostly because he does it every day- and excitedly wait for you to open the door so they can do their doggy things.

Cash followed you and Mal outside, thoroughly enjoying his brother’s discomfort from going anywhere near where the animals were. 

You thought that maybe the chickens would be a good start. After all, they’re smaller and don’t actually have fur- the one thing that Mal complains about the most-, but after seeing Henny Penny on the prowl again, you were starting to second guess your decision.

“UGH! LOOK AT HOW FILTHY THEY ARE.” You turn over to see the chickens just happily pecking away at the corn scratch, making you laugh.

“Mal, they’re just eating corn. How is that gross?” He only scoffed.

“THEY LIVE OUTSIDE, AND THEY’RE ANIMALS. LOOK! LOOK AT THAT ONE RIGHT THERE!-” You looked over to see one of the chickens fluffing her feathers and giving herself a dust bath, looking quite content with doing so. “IT’S ROLLING IN THE DIRT!! HOW IS THAT NOT GROSS?” You can’t help but snort.

“It’s just a dust bath. It keeps them from getting mites and stuff. It’s healthy for them.” This only managed to make him more aghast. 

Maybe she happened to have caught wind of Mal’s ill-spoken words of her kind, or perhaps she felt a tingle on her tail feathers- but now she was riled up. 

Making dramatically long struts and fluffing up her feathers, Henny Penny had entered the scene and was starting to approach the three of you with nothing but sass to her silkie stride. 

“Oh boy…” You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. Mal and Cash gave you a curious look but stared at the fowl who made her way to stare down the insulting resident.

“WHY IS THIS SASSY CHICKEN APPROACHING ME LIKE THAT? THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I DON’T LIKE COMING OUT HERE. I STAY IN THE GARDEN, AND THAT’S IT.” Cash nudged his brother.

“i don’t know, bro. it looks like it wants to be friends.” Cash leaned down a bit but stopped as you quickly snatched his jacket and pulled him away, just in time to save him from losing his other eye. He yelped as he narrowly missed the hen’s talon while Mal screeched and hid behind you.

“Henny Penny!! What have I said about attacking the boys?!” The chicken clucked a few times as if she was giving a snarky reply, making you scrunch your nose. “That’s it. You’ve been warned. Now you stay in the coop today.” You bent down and grabbed the chicken, securely tucking her under your arm as you walked to the chicken coop in question. Mal and Cash followed you, but Mal stayed extra close to you, giving fearful eyes to any of the other chickens who looked in his direction.

“Now you stay here and think about what you did! If you behave, I’ll let you go back out to join the others, for now; you’re going to be in the coop.” You set the silkie down, the chicken clucking loudly in a dramatic fit as you stepped out of the chicken coop. You roll your eyes, seeing how she was freaking out- as if she didn’t have enough space or food. “Drama queen.” You muttered.

You turn back to Cash and Mal, a sly grin on Cash’s face.

“ya’ know… you’re pretty good with hens, but can you handle a coc-” Before you can finish his sentence, you had already picked up a nearby, confused Ginger and tossed the hen at Cash, making him panic as you laughed. Ginger, the orange chicken, squawked and sped off somewhere away from the tall skeleton monster, no doubt going over to the other chickens to yell about how she was used as a weapon by their parent.

Cash tried to cooly play off the fact that the chicken smacked him a few good times with their wings by giving a sly grin- unaware of the feather resting on top of his head.

“So you don’t like roosters- got ya’.” You shake your head but can’t help but feel your lips twitch into a small smile. This seemed to boost the skeleton ego, making him grin and wink at you.

That was just Cash’s personality. He tended to be a flirt and loved flustering people, but he surely couldn’t take what was dished out. You found that out by finally deciding to play along with one of his games, laughing under your breath as you thought about how flustered and stuttery he became. 

“CASH. BEND DOWN FOR ME, WILL YOU?” Mal asked. The brother did as told, curious as to what his older sibling needed. Mal had a dignified look on his features before smacking his brother upside of the head with a magazine he had rolled up. You giggled as Cash held the back of his head, grumbling as he rubbed the spot.

  
  


You continued to try to show Mal that the animals weren’t so bad, but he still whined and complained about pretty much everything.

Oak eventually came outside and joined the three of you, purposefully antagonizing the shorter skeleton.

“ **ya’ sure you don’t want to feed billie-jean, or are you too afraid to? they don’t bite...** ” Mal stared hard at the smirking Oak, not willing to let the overgrown, messed-up version of himself think of _him_ as a coward. Slowly he held out his hand to let the goat sniff the grain that he held. The goat started to eat out of it greedily- Mal making a disgusted face at the weird feeling of the animal’s tongue. 

He wanted to quickly retract as soon as the barn animal was done so he could wipe off the repulsive saliva- but the sudden feeling of pain shot through his hand as he saw that the goat chomped down on it. He yelped at the pain while Oak smirked to himself. “ **... hard.** ”

It took both you and Cash to keep the two separated the rest of the morning- sure that a fight would break out if they kept antagonizing each other.

  
  
  


After that mess of morning chores, you all go back inside- Mal complaining loudly as he announced that he needed another shower since the animals “contaminated” him. You smile and can’t help but roll your eyes at Mal. At least he kept the house interesting… though you probably have enough of that with the seven other housemates.

“if i take a shower, will you join me?” Arms wrapped over your shoulders as the 6’4 Cash leaned close to you with a crap-eating grin. You could hear a slight growling sound from Oak but replied to your flirty friend, anyway.

“Sure. Once you get tested for STDs.” He chuckled and released his hold, giving quick eye contact to Oak as he walked past- unbeknownst to you. 

Oak timidly came over and gently grabbed your jacket to remove it for you, making you smile and laugh tenderly at him.

“Oak, you big gentleman- you don’t have to take my coat for me.” He shrugged and hung it up on the coatrack; a hardly noticeable blue dusted his face upon seeing the grateful gaze you shared with him.

“ **just... helping a friend.** ” You smiled at him again, and you both enter the kitchen to see everyone grabbing their own things for breakfast.

“Edge, you’re working again today, right?” You asked the sharply structured skeleton. He nodded his head as he spread butter onto his toast.

“WHY, YES, I AM. I WILL BE GOING IN EARLY TODAY TO HELP GIVE MS. FRAZZLE DAZZLE HER BATH- SINCE I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN CONTROL HER.” You giggled and joined his side, grabbing some toast of your own.

“I’m actually volunteering there a little later today! I’m sure we’ll see each other.” His regular grumpy face slightly broke character as a small twitch of a grin threatening to show.

“I SEE. WELL, I SUPPOSE IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO HAVE AN ACQUAINTANCE ASSIST WITH THE SHELTER.”

“oh, yikes. acquaintance-zoned.” You turn around to see Sans with his typical lazy grin, making you roll your eyes at your friend with a smile of your own. “hey, best friend, can you pass me the bread?” He asked, a crap-eating grin on his face. You eyed him and then the bread that was in front of him on the table.

“The bread’s right there, dude.” You say, sitting down and propping your head on your hand next to him. He lazily stretched out his arm, making grabby-hands towards the bread that was slightly out of his reach.

“i can’t reach. it’s too far.” You raised your eyebrows at him as his grin widened. Rolling your eyes, you reach over and easily grab the bread and bring it closer to him, giving him an unamused look. “heh heh. thanks, pal.” 

“SANS, YOU LAZY BONES, QUIT MAKING THEM DO THINGS FOR YOU THAT YOU CAN EASILY DO YOURSELF!” Papyrus yells, entering the kitchen with his hands on his hips.

“Yeah! You heard your brother! Now you should make me more toast.” You teased, joining his brother to team up against Sans.

“ah, man. well, here’s your toast.” He handed you a plain slice of bread, leaning in with a “defeated” shrug.

“This isn’t toasted.” You said, holding up the soft bread.

“no, it’s a special-sans-sunday. soft toast.” You quirk an eyebrow. “it’s a great snack, really. plus, the toaster is too far away.” You snorted while Papyrus stomped his foot, fuming.

“time to annoy our brothers already?” Stretch said, blipping in and taking a slice of soft bread and pouring some honey onto it.

“Let me guess; a special-Stretch-Sunday?” You say. He sent a wink.

“bingo.” 

“BROTHER, ARE YOU EATING SOFT BREAD AGAIN WHEN THE TOASTER IS JUST ACROSS THE ROOM?” Blue peeked his head around the corner with a disapproving look.

A mini-argument ensued, making you slowly retreat from the kitchen as a lazy vs. energetic battle began to stir up a commotion and bring the other housemates to either watch or join in. Even Mal heard the ruckus from upstairs and hurried down to give his two cents.

One skeleton happened to be missing, though; Cash.

Usually, you would just assume he went back to sleep, but with Mal also voicing his opinions in the argument, it would’ve quickly brought the younger sibling back from a coma to get an opportunity to tease his brother.

You worried a little for your flirty friend. During the morning chores outside, he didn’t look too hot- making you wonder if he was starting to possibly catch anything.

Going up the stairs and towards the room that he and Willow shared, you see the door open with no one inside. ‘ _Did he go somewhere? Or did he fall asleep in the bath again?_ ’ You walked over to the bathroom to see the light on, making you knock on the door lightly. 

“Did you fall asleep in there again, Cash?” You asked. 

Silence.

You were a bit confused, never hearing a response. You didn’t want to be creepy, but you wanted to make sure that the fool didn’t drown, either.

“Cash? You in there, dude?” You called out again. Upon once again receiving no response, you lean in against the door, listening for any sounds. Confusion settled onto you at hearing the sound of slight rattling coming from the other end.

“Hey, Cash, I’m going to come in, okay? If you’re in the bath, don’t expect me to join.” You slowly opened the door in case he made any sounds of protest. “Cash?” You looked down to see the skeleton curled up into a ball onto the floor, trembling faintly.

* * *

TW: Mentions of Addiction and Withdrawals

* * *

You quickly shut the door behind you and got on your knees, gently laying your hand on Cash.

“Hey, hey… Cash, are you alright? What happened?” You worriedly try to check over your friend, looking for any sign of injury. Was his eye hurting him again? Did he fall and break something?

His eye traveled up and met yours, making you catch sight of tears, your heart dropping as you gently tried to rub his back. He only looked up with a nihilistic smile.

“hey…” He said nonchalantly. “heh... don’t mean to make you so _rattled_ up.” You frowned and continued to rub circles on his back in silence for a few moments. He still lightly shook, and stray tears continued to run down his cheekbones as he curled into himself. 

The longer you stayed to wait for him to feel comfortable enough to talk, the more you realized that the room smelt slightly of vomit.

“...Did you get sick again?” You asked softly, concluding that he might be having withdrawal symptoms again. He nodded, making your heart break a bit as it went out to the struggling monster. 

He then let out a deep breath through his nose and sat up, leaning in to rest his forehead against your shoulder as he loosely wrapped his arms around you. 

“i can hear your soul. you don’t have to feel sad because of me.” You stroke the back of his head and neck, trying your hardest to comfort him as tears still leaked from his eye sockets and onto your shirt.

“Did you want to talk about it?” You gently prodded. He stayed quiet for a little bit before exhaling a long breath.

“i just… i’m not feeling good again…” You hummed in acknowledgment.

“I’m just worried for you, is all… but I want to tell you how proud I am of you. What you’re doing for yourself is extremely courageous.” He stayed silent after that; only the low rattling from Cash’s tremors echoed throughout the small bathroom.

“...”

“...i-i’m a coward.” He stated after a few, long moments. You were somber from seeing Cash like this; you nuzzled the side of his face as some sort of reassurance.

“Why do you think so?” You questioned gingerly. He pulled you in tighter as you felt his body begin to quiver as more tears cascaded down his face.

“i-i can’t do it… i can’t keep my mind off of it. no matter how much i try, i keep wanting it… just one last time- i keep telling myself. but i can’t. i know i can’t.” You closed your eyes and hushed him tenderly as his trembling continued.

“Cash… recovering from addiction isn’t easy; it’s called an addiction for a reason. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone who didn’t want it at times while recovering. It’s not a fault on your part; it’s just how it is at times.” He hesitantly nodded his head while you held him a little tighter. “You are so far from a coward, Cash; it’s unbelievable. For you to quit so suddenly as you did and to actually reach out and get professional help is one of the bravest things I can think of. We all love you so much, and we are so proud of you.” 

He clenched his eyes tight as more tears fell, nodding his head against your chest. Your eyes stung as you tried your hardest to not weep with him. 

“Don’t tell Mal I told you this, but one night we were chatting; he told me how extremely proud he was to see you try so hard to better yourself. You’re still his little brother in his eyes.” The statement made him full-on sob as he wrapped his arms tightly around you, your eyes now watering.

“i-i was a shitty person- i did shitty things back in the underground. i’m a bad brother, and it’s my fault anything happened. he’s got a scar on his eye now because i was stupid! i don’t deserve anything good that’s happened to me-” You squeezed him hard and pulled him tightly to your chest.

“Don’t say that, Cash. You are more than worth redeeming. Look at how far you’ve come-” You held his face in your hands, wiping stray tears with your thumbs. “Who was it that willingly went to rehab as an outpatient, three days after coming to the surface?” He stayed quiet before timidly replying.

"..."

“... me…” Giving an encouraging smile, you rubbed a few more tears away from his cheekbones.

“Who decided to quit everything, cold-turkey, just because they were so determined to quit their bad habits?”

"..."

“...me.”

“And who went even as far as to decide not to take painkillers for his eye- toughing it out with only some ibuprofen like it was a walk in the park?”

“me.” You gave him a proud smile.

“That’s right. _You._ ” Cash was still holding onto you, but more loosely now, as his body had slowly stopped shaking through the conversation.

“...”

“i’m sorry…” He whispered. You hushed him, continuing to rub his back.

“There’s no need to be sorry, Cash. The withdrawals might be making you a little more emotional than normal.” He nodded his head and wiped his eyes, making eye contact with you as he pulled away and quickly darted his one eye light away from you.

He dug through his pocket and pulled out an unlabeled pill bottle.

“here... i found it and meant to throw it away but then… yeah.” You stared at the prescription bottle that he held out to for, getting an idea. Giving him a tender smile, you curled his hand back over the bottle.

“I have a better suggestion…”

…

Mal stood next to his brother as the three of you stood over the toilet, waiting for Cash to make his final decision.

“Whenever you’re ready, Cash.” You say, giving him an encouraging smile. He gave a grateful one in return and looked over to Mal, looking at his hard stare as the brother stayed silent. Cash sighed and opened the bottle, giving it one last, good look before dumping the pills into the toilet bowl in front of you all, flushing them down the drain.

The three of you stayed silent for a moment until you looked to Cash with a wide grin with pride swelling up in your heart.

“I knew you could do it.” He chuckled and scratched the back of his head before turning to Mal. 

The smaller brother was quiet as he had his arms crossed, staring at the bowl that flushed Cash’s pills down. You felt tense at first, afraid that maybe you made the wrong move for asking him to watch Cash and help him. You thought that perhaps the brother would show Cash how genuinely proud he was, and it would help give Cash that encouragement he needed to keep going, but your heart faltered a bit at seeing how Mal wasn’t giving a reaction at all.

Just as you started to doubt Mal, he suddenly grabbed Cash by the front of his jacket and roughly pulled him into a hug. You felt a smile creep onto your face, watching as Mal patted his brother’s back. At the sound of sniffles, you took your cue to leave the bathroom, giving Cash another pat on the shoulder as you walked out, shutting the door so the brothers could have a moment alone.

* * *

End of TW

* * *

“how’re you feeling?” You almost gasped in surprise as you saw Sans leaning against the wall. You sighed a breath of relief and walked over to stand beside him.

“I’m feeling good. What about you?” You asked. He shrugged, scooting closer to you, so your arms brushed against each other.

“same as always. got worried for you, ya’ know? everyone could hear your soul go on an emotional rollercoaster from downstairs.” You laughed a bit under your breath.

“Thanks for worrying, but I’m okay. I was just helping Cash, was all.” He hummed.

“ah. another bad day?” You nodded. “well, i’m glad you’re both okay. i’m assuming mal is with him now?” He questioned.

“Yeah. I let the two have some time alone.” You answered.

Deciding not to stand outside in the hallway any longer, you both went downstairs together, seeing the group snap over with curious glances; spare for the two brothers and Edge. 

Willow cautiously approached with a worried mien.

“Was It Cash Again?” He asked. You and Sans nod while the group looked a little gloomy. “B-But He’s Feeling Better Now, Right?” 

“he’s doin’ fine. mal’s with him now, so he’ll be okay.” Willow made a ‘whew’ sound, a few of the others also looking relieved.

You can’t help but feel your lips slowly twitch at the corners into a smile. Even when they don’t get along at times, it made your heart swell to see that they still were family by the end of the day.

The sound of an alarm on your phone made your eyes widen a bit, looking at the time.

“Shoot! I have to head over to the shelter. I’ll be back in a little bit, alright?” They all said their goodbyes, Papyrus promising you that he’d keep an eye out for everyone.

Heading out of the door, you can’t help but let out a long sigh. At least Cash is okay now, which you were thankful for. Hopefully, some time at the shelter with Edge will help you ease your tensions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, that was a chapter that went a bit deeper than originally planned, but I felt it was necessary to focus on Cash's character development and be able to see him as a more complex character than the usual flirty dork. This was originally planned to be a much larger chapter, but I decided to split it up into two parts so that way it's not oddly timed for you guys! Thank you again for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed it! Remember not to get completely boned ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys like this little chapter! I always taken constructive criticism and love and appreciate all of your comments 💞 Remember not to get completely boned ;)


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